Fish Hatcheries Market in Bangladesh

Fish Farming in Bangladesh
Prepared by: Zerin
Date: 13.03.2017
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Abstract:
Fisheries sector in Bangladesh represents as one of the most productive and dynamic sectors in
the country. This sector plays a significant role in food security, employment, and foreign
exchange earnings in the economy. At present agricultural transformation is taking place in
Bangladesh. With the changes of farming system, farmers have started to shift their crop land to
aquaculture as they considered it more profitable compared to rice production. The production of
inland fisheries represents an increasing trend since 1989-90 with a growth rate of around 5-7%.
Similarly, marine fisheries have also shown an increasing trend while a fluctuated growth rate
has emerged in this sub sector. The fisheries sector in the 21st century is facing the challenges of
food security for the increasing population, habitat degradation, urbanization, and industrial
development. Development of responsible fisheries management and optimal use of water bodies
can address those challenges. Since fishery is a productive growth sector in Bangladesh, it has
high potential to contribute in the socioeconomic development of the country.
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Contents
Fish Farming in Bangladesh.................................................................................................4
Selecting suitable area/land:..........................................................................................4
Pond Construction & Design.........................................................................................5
Details about Pond Management:...................................................................................5
Size of the Pond..........................................................................................................6
Depth........................................................................................................................7
Selecting Fish Species..................................................................................................7
Feeding.....................................................................................................................7
Special Care & Management.........................................................................................8
Fish Collection...........................................................................................................8
Marketing..................................................................................................................8
Fisheries statistics......................................................................................................................10
Exports in the fishery industry:..........................................................................................................11
Export Earning..........................................................................................................11
Shrimp Export from Bangladesh:......................................................................................................11
Statistical Data....................................................................................................15
Bangladesh stands fourth in fish production:..................................................................17
Fisheries Resources.............................................................................................18
Aquaculture...........................................................................................................20
The Status of Aquaculture in the IO Region.......................................................22
Marine resources...................................................................................................23
Well Enriched in Fish Biodiversity....................................................................24
Key Challenges in Fisheries Sector:..................................................................24
Classification of Fish...........................................................................................25
According to Nature of Skeleton:......................................................................................................25
According to the Presence of Scales..................................................................................................25
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Based on Accommodation..................................................................................................................25
Various fish culture in Bangladesh:..................................................................26
Pen culture............................................................................................................................................26
Artemia culture....................................................................................................................................27
Brackish-water aquaculture................................................................................................................28
Shrimp culture......................................................................................................................................29
Oyster fishery culture..........................................................................................................................29
Oyster culture.......................................................................................................................................29
Beel fishery:.........................................................................................................................................30
Baor fishery:.........................................................................................................................................31
Haor fishery:.........................................................................................................................................32
Kaptai Lake fishery.............................................................................................................................32
Crab.......................................................................................................................................................33
Marine shrimp......................................................................................................................................34
Some of the Major Cultured Aquatic Species Information:............................36
Catla:.....................................................................................................................................................36
Rohu Carp:...........................................................................................................................................39
Mrigal:..................................................................................................................................................42
Tilapia...................................................................................................................................................44
Hilsha Fish............................................................................................................................................46
Silver Carp Fish...................................................................................................................................48
Fish Feed..............................................................................................................49
Different Types of Fish Feed..............................................................................................................49
Fish Diseases........................................................................................................52
Ulcer disease of fish............................................................................................................................52
Stomach swelling.................................................................................................................................52
New technology to boost fish cultivation...........................................................53
Mini RAS for Bangladesh Catfish Farm..........................................................53
Advantages & Features of Indoor RAS.............................................................................................54
Species Suitable for indoor RAS..................................................................................55
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Technology and Infrastructure...........................................................................................................56
Mini RAS System Elements...............................................................................................................56
FLOW CHART.............................................................................................................................57
Scope of Services.................................................................................................................................58
References:.............................................................................................................59
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Fish Farming in Bangladesh
Bangladesh is a south Asian country and there are hardly any areas in the country where river or
any other water source is not available. Bangladesh is surrounded by rivers and various types of
water sources like pond, stream, Lake Etc. And a major part of the total population of this
country is directly or indirectly involved with fish or fish related business. Especially, most of
the people of southern area of Bangladesh are directly engaged with commercial fish farming or
fish farming related business. Khulna, Barisal, Bagerhat, Satkhira etc. are considered as the
best place for commercial fish farming in Bangladesh.
The country also has a coastal area of 2.30 million ha and a coastline of 714 km along the Bay
of Bengal, which supports a large artisanal and coastal fisheries. Bangladesh has about 130 deep-
sea fishing trawlers, 22000 mechanized fishing boats, and 25,000 non-mechanized fishing
boats.
To start fish farming in Bangladesh one need to follow certain steps, those are-
1. Selecting suitable area/land:
This is the most important part. Although, almost all places of Bangladesh are suitable for
fish farming. But some areas are suitable for specific fish species. For example, southern part
of the countries is suitable for saltwater fish farming and the middle or northern parts are
famous for freshwater fish farming. However, while choosing a suitable area or land for your
fish farming business, consider the followings-
Try to avoid steeply sloped lands and select the land which is relatively level.
While selecting the land, keep in mind about your future business plan. Try to select large
land that is perfect for performing all types of necessary activities.
Try to avoid polluted and flooding areas. Flooding area can seriously damage your
business.
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Selected land must have to be far from the crop fields. Because crop farmers use a lots of
pesticides and fertilizers in their field. And this type of fertilizers and pesticides get
mixed with air and rain water and pollute the water of fish farm and make a horrible
environment. So, always try to avoid these types of lands.
If the selected land becomes slightly lower than the main water source then it will be very
cost effective to fill the land with water. You can easily use gravity to fill the land with
water rather than by pumping.
Good transportation system with the nearest market or city is very effective.
2. Pond Construction & Design

After selecting a suitable farm land, its time to make a good designed pond with availability
of all types of required facilities for fish farming. The design of the pond depends on the fish
species and production system. In southern part of Bangladesh, the farmer used to make large
ponds by making a embankment surrounding the flat land. This type of pond is called
Gher. This ghers are generally used for shrimp production by using traditional farming
methods. The farmers make a sluice gate for filling the gher with river water, stock some
shrimp minnow, and depend on the nature for growth. However, you have to make a proper
designed pond according to your location and desired fish species. Ensure good environment
in the pond where the fish can grow happily.
Details about Pond Management:
Successful fish farming depends on the pond ecosystem. The source of water can be a river,
lake or other natural way as if rain water and underground water. Water source can be
different but it have to have the facilities of changing weekly or monthly. It would be better if
it has the facilities of replacing after every two to three months. For highest fish production
the pond water should change or replace only when it would lose from evaporation or
seepage. If the farmer changes the whole, water of the pond more and more it will reduce his
production. The pond can be different sized. It can be a small one or a pond of numerous
hectares. Small pond design is made for meet up family animal protein supply or
consumption. On the other hand, the larger pond is made for commercial purposes. But a
pond of giant size is not suitable for well maintenance. Before pond construction, you should
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keep in mind about the pond culture, pond design, pond management, and the pond supplies
system.
Natural resources, condition, weather, and available equipment are the main thing to look
before build a pond. The farmer should build a pond where the land is situated with a
gentle slope.
The pond may be square or rectangular but you have to make sure that it will be free from
entering water from other source and the water will never go out.
The water label of the pond will always be same according to the species of the fish and it
will be better if there is a resource of water where sufficient water is available all time.
The pond also has to be well drained to remove all water while collecting the fish. The
shore of the pond should wide enough for reducing the erosion problem.
For preventing your pond fish from the thief, you should construct the pond near your
residence as much as possible. The another way to keep your fish free from being theft,
keep bamboo poles or tree branches with thorns in the pond, it will make impossible to
collect fish with net. The bamboo poles and tree branches will not only prevent the fish
from being theft but also it will serve the fish some extra natural foods. This system is
generally known as periphyton based fish cultivation.
Do not build a pond where the minnow is rare. The pond plants must have to be
maximum. Pond plants reduce the food cost of fish cultivation. The pond ecosystem will
be fish cultivation friendly. It will be free from all types of ammonia gas and full supply
of oxygen. Different types of ducks can be raised in the pond and it will make sufficient
oxygen supply for the fish.
Before build a pond, you have to give attention in some subject. What should you do
before contracting a pond is described below.
Size of the Pond
The size of the pond depends on your farming type. If you want to cultivate fish to meet up
your family needs, you can start in a small pond design. If you want to cultivate fish
commercially, you have to make a large one. The pond can be both square and rectangular
sized. Square and rectangular sized pond is easy to build. A pond with an area of 250-300
square meter is best for family used fish pond. In commercial purposes, the pond size can be
any. The size of the pond should be right that which you can easily maintain.
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Depth
The water depth will be 30% in one corner and 100% in another corner. Depth of the water
depends on the species of fish you are cultivating. The depth of the pond can be more if you
want to use it for reserving water for the dry season. Whatever the depth of the pond can be
but it have to have the well facilities of draining. A well drained pond is suitable for
collecting fish.
Pond constructing process is the most difficult and expensive way of fish farming. A pond
should construct well because it is a long deposit and a pond can be used for several years.
So, think more and more before building a pond.
Select a suitable place for making the pond.
Determine the appropriate area of the pond.
Make the shore of the pond strong.
It would be better if there is no big tree near the pond.
Make an inlet and outlet path.
Make the pond fertilized before releasing minnow there.
Build the pond near your residence.
Stock minnow according to the area of your pond.
Make the pond where at least one natural water source is available around the year.
Determine the area of pond which you can easily maintain.
3. Selecting Fish Species
Select the fish species according to your location and market demand. Tilapia fish
farming is very profitable and it is a common fish species of Bangladesh and suitable for
commercial production in every place of this country. In southern parts of Bangladesh shrimp
is the widely cultivated fish species. Shrimp has a great demand and high value in local and
international market. Along with shrimp crab, bhetki, tangra, horina chingri etc. are common
fish species which grow naturally in saltwater gher. Katla, rui, mrigal, common
carp, boal, pabda, chital, koi, shol, gozar, various types of catfish etc. are
common freshwater fish species.
4. Feeding
Feeding high quality fish feed ensures maximum production. Although most of the farmer
depend on natural fish feed and have no interest in supplementary fish feeding. But, for
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commercial production and high profit, you must have to feed your fish high quality and
nutritious food. Various types of fish feed prepared for commercial production are available
in the market. But If you want to prepare the feed at home, then you have to learn about the
nutrition requirements of fish and buy all the feeding elements separately. And then you have
to mix it in proper ratio. While making supplementary feed for fish always try to add all
types of nutrient elements, vitamins, minerals, salt etc. Feed your fish twice a day. Once early
in the morning and another time at evening.
5. Special Care & Management
Good care always need to be taken by doing all tasks timely. If good water source available,
change the water after a several period. Try to keep the pond environment suitable for proper
growth and production. Test the water, soil and fish health on a regular basis. Make a stock of
necessary medicines and use them timely if something goes wrong. Prevent entrance of all
types of harmful animals and predators like frogs, snakes etc.
6. Fish Collection
Collect the fish timely when the fish reach marketing age. Collection time varies depending
on the fish species. You can easily collect fish from pond by removing the water or by using
net. After collecting, send the fish in the market as soon as possible.
7. Marketing
Preserving, transporting and marketing are three important links in the chain of fish
production and consumption connecting the producer, broker, wholesaler, retailer, and
consumer. Fish harvesting and marketing become profitable only when the fishery products
are delivered in a wholesome condition and at a price acceptable to the consumers.
Fish marketing is almost entirely a function of the private sector and operates through a
complex system of village markets (hat), township markets (bazar), and assembly centres,
major urban wholesale and retail markets. There is a corresponding network of personnel,
from buyers who may be hat traders or agents of bigger bazaar fish merchants
(Bepari/Mahajan) to wholesale market commission agents (Adotdar/Paikar) who effectively
control the whole system. The fishermen are compelled to hand over their catches to the
trader/middleman (Adotdar/Paikar) at a price determined by the latter. The middleman is not
just a trader in fish. He is often an owner of capital like boat, net, etc, which he leases out to
fishermen. He may be a fisherman himself owning and operating boat, gear, employing
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fishermen on a fixed wage as hired laborers and enjoying unearned income depriving the
actual fishermen of the benefit of their labor and production. The exploitation of the
fishermen is mainly due to the monopolistic set up of the fish trade.
Despite many problems, the fish marketing system in Bangladesh is quite efficient and
enables fish to be moved as and when needed between market centres without excessive loss
of quality. Boats are used to collect fish from the fishermen. The fishes are packed in baskets
with ice. Trucks and buses are used to transport the fish to larger towns. The main problems
however are unavailability of ice, or inadequate supplies at most landing centres and the
unsatisfactory state of fish market structures. Almost all markets are ill managed and
unhygienic.
The Bangladesh Fisheries Development Corporation has constructed a modern fish harbor at
Chittagong and fish landing centres at Cox's Bazar, Barisal, Khepupara, Patharghata and
Khulna for marine catch and at Rangamati, Kaptai, Rajshahi and Dabor for freshwater catch.
The harbor and the entire centres are equipped with modern and hygienic facilities like
berthing, auctioning, ice-plants, cold storage, freezer storage, fish vans, etc. But the traders
are often less interested in using these facilities due to ignorance and self-interest.
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Fisheries statistics
(collected from Department of Fisheries, Bangladesh Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock)
The total area of the country is 147,570 sq km (56,977 sq. miles). q A wide portion of land is
covered by large rivers such as the Padma, the Jamuna, the Teesta, the Meghna, the Brahmaputra,
and the Surma. There are also thousands of tributaries with a total length of about 24,140 km.
These rivers are connected to the Bay of Bengal.
Fisheries Contribution to National GDP 3.69%
Fisheries Contribution to Agricultural GDP 23.12%
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Exports in the fishery industry:
Export Earning (2nd largest, next to Ready-Made Garments-RMG) 2.01%
Less than 3% of total fish production in Bangladesh is exported but still fishery exports
contribute to 2.01% of total export earnings. The last recorded export earning amounts to 630.24
million USD in 2014. According to experts, this figure is still not a true reflection of the real
potential of the sector. In order to enjoy benefit of true export potential of fish there should be
ample fish processing units. Currently, there are 133 fish processing plants in Bangladesh which
are mostly located in port cities (Khulna and Chittagong) of which 74 processing plants are EU
approved. This means 44% of the processing units are not fit for EU market whereas Bangladesh
is traditionally oriented towards the EU market as opposed to the US and Japan.
The popularity of fish for export varies from species to species.
Shrimp Export from Bangladesh:
Shrimp is its second largest foreign currency earner after the ready-made garment industry, and a
major source of employment. The Bangladesh shrimp industry is largely
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geared for export, and more than 80% of the total national shrimp produced ends up on foreign
markets.Over two thirds of shrimp exports are imported by USA the EU, notably by Belgium,
German, The UK and The Netherlands. Japan, Russia, and Saudi Arabia are the position of next.
Without this Bangladesh export worldwide.
The most important is The Black Tiger Shrimp locally known as Bagda which contributes about
70%
of all cultured shrimp. Giant Freshwater Shrimp locally known as Golda contributes about 15
percent. The remaining 15% comes from other shrimp species including Horina or brown
shrimp, Chaka or Indian white shrimp and Green/Cat tiger shrimp.
The countrys shrimp export earnings in 2009-10 fiscal was recorded at $375 million, posting a
more than 7 per cent negative growth. But, in the first 10 months [July-April] of
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Source: Shrimp & Fish Exports from Bangladesh (2009-2010)
2011 fiscal year, export earnings from raw and valued-added frozen shrimps amounted to $386
million, up by 52 per cent year on year & the quantity of shrimps exported would cross the 100
million pound compared to 82 million pounds exported in 2009-10.
Exporters find high demands again for the product in Bangladeshi shrimp at the beginning of the
current fiscal year when the recession lack of spiritedness from the of growing up, Restaurant
and in the Home of The European Union and The United States.
Others: A variety of captured fish is exported of which the most well-known is the hilsha shad.
On the other hand, cultured species fish with the highest export potential are pangasius and
tilapia. The most products for export are as frozen into blocks or an almost negligible part as
fillets.
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Source: Export Promotion Bureau, Bangladesh 2014
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The above table shows Production statistics of carp spawn/ fingerling from public and
private hatcheries.
Statistical Data:
Animal protein supply () 60%

Current fish intake (g/person/day) 53.00
Desirable fish intake (g/person/day) 60.00
Employment (full time & part time) 17.80 million ( 11% of total population)
Women employment 1.40 million ( 8.5% of fisheries sector employment)
(Source: Department of Fisheries Report, 2015)
Fish Production (2013-14) 3.548 m MT

Inland Closed Water (culture) 1.957 m MT
Inland Open Water (capture) 0.996 m MT
Marine Fisheries 0.595 m MT
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Last 10 years average growth rate of fisheries is 5.4%, where aquaculture shows the
growth performance of 8.2%.
Farmed food fish production in 2012 Bangladesh 1 726 066(source-FAO Report, 2014)
Bangladesh stands fourth in fish production:
Bangladesh presently stands fourth in producing sweet water fish, according to 2013-2014's
report of the UN's Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO). FAO has published a report, The
State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture, and the report's cover displays a photograph of
catching fish from a pond in Rajshahi, Bangladesh. According to the report, China is first in fish
farming and next India and Myanmar.
Former fisheries secretary Z Karim says, Bangladesh is the best place in the world for sweet
water fish cultivation. The 25million hectares of open water bodies and the thousands and
thousands of ponds in the villages have created a potential that hasn't been utilized in full.
According to FAO, Bangladesh has been among the top five fish cultivation countries for many
years. In 2006, it jumped to second position, overtaking India. From 2004 until 2014,
Bangladesh's fish production increased by 53%.
Bangladesh Statistics Bureau (BBS)'s latest economic census says that in the 2013-14 fiscal, the
country produced approximately 3.46million tonnes of fish, of which about 2million tonnes were
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farmed. With the protection of hilsa fries and other initiatives, production of the country's most
popular fish hilsa has gone up from 52,000 tonnes to 350,000 tonnes.
With prices of fish remaining within the reach of the common people, there has been a 100%
increased in per head consumption of fish over the past 10 years. According to a survey of 2010,
the annual per head consumption of fish in Bangladesh is 12kg. The people of Chittagong
consume the most fish at an annual 17kg per head and the least is in Rangpur at 7.5kb per head.
Annual fish consumption globally is 22.4kg per head.
The new varieties of fish bred by Bangladesh's fishery experts and the rapid expansion in this
regard have given rise to this significant increase in fish production. There has been a virtual
revolution in fish farming in the ponds at Mymensingh, Bogra and Comilla and in the fish farms
of the southwest regions. With fish farming having increased, over the past 10 years fish
consumption has almost doubled. Fish exports have gone up by 135%. In the 2013-14, fiscal
Bangladesh's export earnings from frozen fish went up by 17.35% to 41.49billion taka.
In the eighties, the new varieties of pangash, rui, katal and telapia fish produced by the
Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute won instant popularity among the consumers. In recent
years, there has been an increase in shing, magur and shol farming. In 1990, a total of 193
thousand tonnes of farmed fish was produced. In 2000 this increased to 657 thousand tonnes.
And in 2014, this has reached one million tonnes.
Mymensingh and Comilla districts have created a stir in fish production. Fish farming in Khulna,
Jessore, Satkhira, Bagerhat, Chittagong, Chokoria and Barisal divisions have been a boon to the
economy of those areas as well as to the economy of the country as a whole. Shrimps produced
in those regions are now the country's second largest export item. According to FAO, Bangladesh
stands 25th in global standing for catching sea fish. However, after settlement of the maritime
boundary issue with Myanmar and India, catching fish from the Bay of Bengal is likely to
increase manifold, according to the organization.
Fisheries Resources:
Inland Closed Water (in million ha) 0.741 m ha
Pond/dighi (nos. 2.5 million) 0.338 m ha
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Seasonal cultured water body 0.122 m ha
Baor 0.006 m ha
Shrimp/Prawn Farm (nos. .23 million) 0.275 m ha
Inland Open Water (in million ha) 4.025 m ha
River and Estuary 0.854 m ha

Sundarbans 0.178 m ha
Kaptai Lake 0.069 m ha
Beel 0.114 m ha
Flood Plain 2.810 m ha
Marine Fisheries Resources
Marine Water (Territorial) 9,060 km2

Maritime Boundary 118,813 km2
Coast line 710 km
225 industrial trawlers of which 24 are mid-water
Around 68 thousand mechanized and non-mechanized boats
Marine fisherman: > 0.5 million
Fish Cultivation:
The soil, water, and climate of Bangladesh are very favorable for inland fisheries in both
open and closed water. Therefore, most of the fish traded in domestic market are from inland
capture.
There are primarily three fish cultivation methods: Inland capture fisheries,
Aquaculture, Marine resources.
Inland capture fisheries:
Inland capture fisheries have historically dominated the fish production in Bangladesh. In
the past the major source of fish production in Bangladesh was the inland open water
capture fisheries. Inland capture fishery comprises rivers and estuaries, Sundarban water
resource in the forest, beels, Kaptailake, and floodplain land.
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However, due to mainly decline and degradation of resources, the share of inland capture
fisheries has been reduced remarkably during the last three decades. In 1984-85, the
contribution of inland capture and culture fisheries to total fish production were 63% and
15%, respectively; whereas in 2011-12, inland capture fisheries contributes only 29% and
inland culture fisheries contributes 53% to total production. Due to over exploitation of fish
including use of harmful fishing gears and system (fishing by dewatering), degradation and
loss of fish habitats, increase agriculture production and road communication, siltation of
water bodies by natural process, introduction of a number of alien invasive fish species and
water pollution by industry, and agrochemicals, the natural inland fish stocks have declined
significantly and fish biodiversity have been affected seriously.
In case of inland capture fisheries, major carps are the dominant species, followed by exotic
carps (silver carp, common carp, mirror carp and grass carp). Other prominent species are
cat fish, snake head, hilsa and prawn. The inland water fishers deploy a wide variety of
fishing gear, including gill nets, seine nets, push nets, drag nets, lift nets, hook, and line and
various types of traps. All operations are small-scale in nature. Country boat types, with or
without inboard engines, are used in inland capture fisheries. The establishment of fish
sanctuaries is being encouraged by Department of Fisheries and about 500 sanctuaries have
been established by 2012. In addition, management measures have been introduced in rivers
to contain fisheries of hilsa, which migrate up rivers from the Bay of Bengal for breeding.
Hilsa has been regarded as fully exploited or overexploited and there has been an increasing
exploitation of juveniles. The Government has introduced a short seasonal ban for hilsa on
major spawning grounds during the breeding season (10 days closure), covering 7,000 km2
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(FAO, 2014). At present, improved management is the first priority in the fisheries
development policy with a view to enhance production.
Aquaculture:
As the fish production from aquaculture has increased remarkably over the last few years,
many poor and ultra-poor of rural Bangladesh have the opportunity of fulltime and part time
employment. About 11% of the people of the country now directly or indirectly depend on
the fish sector for their livelihood. Among the manpower associated with the fish sector,
10% are women. Moreover, 80% workers working for fish processing plants and fish drying
centers are women.
Aquaculture system can be classified into i) extensive system relying on natural food
produced in the water body without supplementary inputs, ii) semi-intensive systems
relying mostly on natural feed but supplemented with feed and fertilizer and iii) intensive
systems relying on nutritionally complete concentrate feed and fertilizers .
Aquaculture has expanded rapidly in some areas of Bangladesh. In total pond area, 90% are
reported to be in use for fish production. The main species are Indian major carps: rohu,
catla, mrigal ; exotic carps: silver carp, common carp, and catfish: Thai pangas. All
contributing 5% or more to the total production. Other common aquaculture species are:
bighead carp, mirror carp and silver barb. The latter three are all introduced species. The
contribution of tilapia (primarily Nile tilapia and also Java tilapia, is growing but still
reported to be just 1.5% of the total. In the publicly managed oxbow lakes (baors) the exotic
carps (silver carp, grass carp, common carp and also bighead carp) make up 46% of the total
production, followed by the major carps with 13%. The composition is more varied in the
privately managed oxbow lakes, where exotic carps make up 56% and major carps 22% of
the production.
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Other species are catfish, snakehead, and other carps (FAO, 2014). Shrimp farming is
concentrated in southern Bangladesh, with Khulna Division having 205,346 ha, followed by
Chittagong Division with 60,031 ha and Barisal Division with 8,196 ha. The total
production in shrimp farms in 2011-12 was 196,306 tonnes , of which 132,702 tonnes was
shrimp and the remaining was finfish (DoF, 2013). The main species are Penaeus monodon
(local name: bagda) and Macrobrachium rosenbergii (local name: golda). Other species are
Metapenaeus monoceros (local name: horina), and Penaeus indicus (local name: chaka).
Traditionally shrimp farming began by trapping tidal waters in nearby coastal enclosures
known as 'gher' where no feed, fertilisers or other inputs were applied. With an increasing
demand from both national and international markets, farmers started to switch over into
improved extensive and semi-intensive systems. The major part of the pond produced fish is
marketed locally without any processing and sold fresh. Fish destined for the major urban
markets are iced and sold fresh. There is a small export of frozen tilapia to niche markets
mainly in the UK. The shrimp is processed and frozen in 82 fish/shrimp processing plants,
of which 71 are EU approved and HACCP certified. During the last 10 years, a quality
control system has gradually been established with laboratories mainly for inspection of
export consignments.
The Status of Aquaculture in the IO Region:
Bangladesh in Global Fisheries position
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Marine resources:
Fish production from the Bay of Bengal marginally increased over the last 10 years but its
relative share in fisheries production has declined. Bangladeshs coastal waters contain diverse
fisheries resources, with 475 species of finfish including the cartilaginous fishes - sharks,
skates and rays. The majority of the commercially targeted stocks are reported to be over-
exploited and there were significant declines in catches during last decades. In the Bay of
Bengal, both industrial and artisanal fisheries exploit coastal and offshore marine fisheries
resources without any management plan. This is due to the non-availability of scientific
information and difficulties in implementation of management strategies. At present, the
marine fisheries sector contributes about 18% to the countrys total fish production .The
marine fisheries activity in the country presently comprises mainly of artisanal sector.
Marine fisheries include industrial fishery with large trawler fleet as well as artisanal fisheries
with mechanized and non-mechanized boat. Fishing operations in the estuaries and coastal
waters used to be carried out by traditional craft until the mid-1960s. From 1966, two
organizations, namely the Bangladesh Fisheries Development Corporation (BFDC) and the
Bangladesh Jatio Matshyajibi Samabay Samity (BJMSS) started the process of mechanization
by importing and introducing marine engines. The present number of marine fishing boats are
45377 artisanal boats, of which 23651 are non-mechanized and 21726 are mechanized (BBS,
2012). An estimated 93% of marine catch was produced in the artisanal sub-sector. Hilsa is
the most important species with 202,951 tonnes, all from artisanal fisheries. Other important
species are Bombay duck (58,263 tonnes), Pomfret (46,643 tonnes), and jewfish (35,743
tonnes). The total shrimp fisheries produce 52,217 tonnes, of which 2,932 tonnes are catches
from trawlers, the balance being artisanal production. The government has declared a marine
reserve (covering 698 sq. km) in the Bay of Bengal to protect and preserve the breeding
grounds of marine flora and fauna.
*The composition of fishing method has changed over time in Bangladesh. Namely, there has
been a stark switching of priority between the capture and culture categories with culture
taking the lead in recent years.
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This transition points to a move to a more organized regime in fishing and profit seeking
motives by the farmers. In the period 1985-86 for instance, the capture category of fish supply
consisted of 56% of the total production whereas in 2011-12, it only consisted of 30% with the
culture category making up 53% of production. In addition, this points to opportunities for
market interventions which would enhance the production volume in the culture category of
fishing and increase its share from the current rate of around 55% of fishing production.
*There is a wide variety of fish species in Bangladesh which can be grouped into five broad
categories: hilsa, carp, catfish, prawn and others. In the inland open water system there are
260 native species, 13 exotic fish species and 20 species of shrimp.
*Most of the 260 species of freshwater fish and 20 species of freshwater prawns are greatly
favored by consumers. Carps, rui, catla and mrigal, particularly from rivers or other water
bodies, command the highest prices. Generally, consumers prefer bigger fish from rivers or
open water bodies. These fish fetch higher prices in the market than cultured fishes from
ponds. Carps, whether they are from open water bodies or from ponds, can easily be identified
by their bright color and their texture.
Well Enriched in Fish Biodiversity:
Freshwater fish species 260

Exotic fish species 12
Marine fish species 486
Freshwater shrimp species 24
Marine shrimp species 36
Key Challenges in Fisheries Sector:
Habitat degradation/ gradual resource depletion
Scarcity of good quality spawn, fries/PL, feed and other inputs
Blocking migratory routes of indigenous fish species
Expansion of coastal aquaculture and climate smart technologies
Lack of secure lease and access to public water bodies
Alternative livelihoods support to fishers during banned fishing seasons
Poor institutional linkage among the relevant stakeholders
Lack of exploratory survey on stocks assessment
Entry of illegal fishing vessels and pouching in our EEZ
Licensing of fishing boats and control of effort at sustainable level
Implementation of the relevant rules of the FAO/UN CCRF
Absence of cold storage & hygiene
27
lack of skilled labor force
Lack of supply of fish since 97% of fish are locally consumed and low quality of
seed fish i.e. the primary production, etc.
Classification of Fish
According to Nature of Skeleton: This types of fishes are of two types according to the nature
of their skeleton.
Fish with Cartilage: The fish which has soft skeleton and build by cartilage is known as
fish with cartilage. Dog fish, sawfish etc are fish with cartilage.
Fish with Bone: This types of fish has strong skeleton and well structured with bone.
And they are known as fishes with bone. Rui, katla, mrigal etc. are fish with bone.
According to the Presence of Scales: Fishes are of two types based on their accommodation.
Fish with Scales: The fish which body is covered with scale is known as fishes with
scale. Rui, katla, mrigal, calbasu (kalabaus) etc are fishes with scale.
Fish without Scales: The fish which has no scale in their body is called fishes without
scale. Some fishes without scale are catfish, pabda, tangra, boal etc.
Based on Accommodation: Fishes are of three types based on their accommodation:
Fish of Freshwater: This types of fish lives in the pond, river, canal, fen etc. with
freshwater. Some freshwater fish breeds are rui, katla, mrigal etc.
Semi Saltwater Fish: These types of fish lives in the estuary and bay with semi
saltwater. Tangra, bhetki, gurjali etc. are saltwater fish.
Saltwater Fish: This types of fishs lives in saltwater. They generally live in sea and
coastal area. Hilsa, rupchanda, bele etc are saltwater fish.
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Various fish culture in Bangladesh:
Pen culture
In typical pen culture, the sides of the enclosure are constructed by mesh or netting fitted to
wooden poles, the bottom being the natural beds (soil bed). Pen culture originated in the
inland sea areas of Japan in the early 1920s. China adopted it in the 1950s for rearing carps in
freshwater lakes and later it was introduced in the Philippines between 1968 and 1970 in order
to rear milk fish (Chanos chanos). The commercial culture of fish in pens is a relatively new
practice.
In Bangladesh, the concept of pen and cage aquaculture for commercial fish production was
included in the national development programme in 1977. During 1981-1984, experimental
pen culture activities were undertaken in a few places, viz Bahadurpur baor, Nabaganga River
and Saganna baor in Jhenidah, and Dhanmondi and Gulshan lake in Dhaka city. In Saganna
baor, 1,890 kg of fish was produced from a 0.5 ha pen after 8 months of polyculture of carps
with supplemental diet. Silver carp grew to 350 g; catla, rohu, and mrigal grew even less. In
1981, a 0.25 ha pen of 100' 25m size was installed in Dhamnondi lake and stocked with five
species of carps viz silver carp, grass carp, catla, rohu and mrigal of 4.0-5.6g size at a density
of 38,600 individuals/ha. The fish reached an average weight of 186g in 6 months, and a total
of 15,195 kg fish was harvested.
Polyethylene knotless net, bamboo fence (bana), bamboo poles, tire cord, and nylon cord are
considered suitable materials for pen construction. Polyculture of Indian major carps and
Chinese carps at a stocking density of 20,000/ha was found suitable for culture in a profitable
manner. Macrobrachium rosenbergii, Oreochromis spp., Pangasius sutchi and P. pangasius
were also found suitable for culture with carps in pens. Fingerlings of 10 cm size and 3
months old are found optimum for stocking. Economic analysis reveals that a net profit of
about Tk 70,000 (about US $1,300) is possible from an irrigation pen of 0. 50 ha within one
cycle.
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Artemia culture
Artemia is a planktonic crustacean about 12 mm in length and adapted to living in highly

saline waters. Its cysts have become the most widely used live food item in the shell and
finfish hatcheries throughout the world, because its nauplii are readily taken by aquatic
animals under nursery conditions without fouling the aquarium water. Artemia cysts can be
kept stored on the shelf in an anaerobic condition for several years, and at the times of need
the nauplii are easily obtained by hatching them in seawater. The cysts are commercially
produced in certain countries and are marketed in sealed containers.
Artemia is found all over the world in a wide variety of hyper saline habitats, eg coastal salt
pans, and inland salt lakes. Its distribution, however, is not continuous, it does not occur
naturally in Bangladesh and in SE-Asia. The factors that limit its presence in Bangladesh are
the salinity, which has to be sufficiently high (mostly above 100 ppt) to exclude the presence
of predators, and the water temperature, that must allow development and reproduction.
Indeed Artemia needs active or passive dispersion vectors for its cysts, such as wind, water
birds, and man. In an optimal environment, the habitat is colonized at an astonishing rate;
mature females reproduce ovoviviparously, can produce 200-300 free-swimming nauplii at
every four days' interval. These nauplii grow to adults in less than two weeks.
Since Artemia does not occur naturally in Bangladesh, its propagation through inoculation is
the only answer to go for commercial production. There is a distinct dry season in Bangladesh
for about five to six months (November-April); also, there are about 17000 ha of temporal salt
pans in this country, some of which may be modified for the integrated production of salt and
the culture of Artemia. It can survive in the extreme saline conditions of earthen salt pans, it
grazes on phytoplankton, detritus, and can take low cost feed such as rice bran, etc. After
proper modification and biological management, the potential yields of Artemia from the
modified pond integrated with salt production in Bangladesh are estimated to be satisfactory.
Workers at the Institute of Marine Sciences, University of Chittagong have been conducting
experiments in Artemia culture since 1976, and the first successful inoculation of Artemia led
to the production of biomass and cysts in the year 1989 in a coastal salt pan of Bangladesh.
30
Subsequent attempts with different geographical strains offered encouraging results for
Artemia culture in Bangladesh.
Brackish-water aquaculture
Fish raised by this culture (including molluscs and crustaceans) in waters having low salt
contents. Brackish-water aquaculture constitutes an expanding farming activity and playing an
important role in the overall fisheries development efforts in Bangladesh. Marine and
estuarine shrimp, fish, and crabs are the farm products. Penaeus monodon is the primary target
culture species, while several fish species, heterogeneous shrimp, and crabs are the
byproducts. Amongst the coastal districts, brackish-water aquaculture is practiced in Satkhira,
Khulna, Bagerhat, Cox's Bazar and Chittagong. Because of the turbulent nature of the Bay of
Bengal, the wide fluctuations of tide and salinity, and the absence of sheltered places, eg
lagoons or brackish-waters adjoining the sea, mariculture has not so far developed in
Bangladesh. Extensive areas in the coastal belt are, however, under brackish-water
aquaculture, which is mainly shrimp based. In the seventies, when brackish-water aquaculture
started as an important economic activity, the culture system was quite primitive.
From the early eighties, the government of Bangladesh has been endeavoring to improve the
traditional culture practices. Brackish-water aquaculture is mostly practiced in low-lying tidal
flats within polders of Water Development Board. The polders were originally constructed to
protect the agricultural land from brackish-water. In many places, the farmers themselves have
constructed dykes along the riverbanks for the dual purposes of agriculture and aquaculture.
The total area under aquaculture is about 2, 92,378 ha, of which about 48% is under brackish-
water aquaculture.
In 1993-94, the total fisheries production was 1.087 million m tons, of which about 24% were
of aquaculture origin. Brackish-water farms produced 39,477 m tons of shrimp and fish, of
which shrimp accounted for about 25,000 m tons (204 kg/ha). In the total aquaculture
production, brackish-water farms contributed about 15% by weight and an estimated 38.5%
by value. The total cultured shrimp, as brackish-water products accounted for about 80% by
volume and about 84% by value. In all shrimp taken together (100,538 m tons), brackish-
31
water farm-raised shrimp accounted for about 25% by weight and about 50% by value. In
Bangladesh shrimp is the third-largest foreign exchange earning commodity, following
garments and jute. It is estimated that about 2,200,000 ha of the tidal lands are suitable for
brackish-water shrimp culture.
Although intensive brackish-water shrimp culture is not practiced in Bangladesh, there are
extensive traditional culture practices in southwestern and the southeastern regions of the
country. The farmers traditionally culture shrimp and fish by entrapping them in low-lying
coastal areas with the construction of embankments.
Shrimp culture
This is generally practiced in rotation with rice or salt in some areas, and also as a single crop
in other areas. Crops of shrimp farming and cropping pattern are different in both the regions,
since the southwestern districts have lower salinity round-the-year compared to the
southeastern region. In the southeastern region, a single crop of shrimp/fish only or a double
crop of shrimp/fish and salt is produced, while in the southwestern districts, two major
cropping patterns are practiced, eg, shrimp/fish and rice, and shrimp/fish alone. The major
species of shrimp that are cultured are the Penaeus monodon in the southeastern region, and P.
monodon and Macrobrachium rosenbergii in the southwestern region.
Oyster fishery culture
This culture is of edible bivalve molluscs, the oysters, in shallow warm waters. Besides oysters,
the fishery includes other bivalves such as mussels, clams, and scallops. They are filter feeders
and have a common life history pattern in which the early stages are planktonic. For culture,
poles are planted in shallow coasts with a gentle slope. Oyster spats collected from the natural
breeding grounds are transferred to the growing site where they are hung on the raft, and are
marketed when they are 4-7 cm in size after 7-8 months of culture.
Oyster culture
32
In Bangladesh, some species of Ostrea and Crassostrea are known to occur and may be utilized
for culture. The coastal area with high tidal amplitude, sufficient tidal current, a plain low-lying
tract of muddy loams, fringe of mangrove vegetation, pollution-free zone, suitable salinity range,
and high plankton abundance seems to be suitable for their culture either using stakes, poles,
racks, and trays in the shallow areas or floating rafts and long lines in deeper waters with a very
low capital involvement. Although not scientifically cultured, pearl produced by freshwater
clams are regularly collected in certain areas in Bangladesh.
Beel fishery:
Beel fishery fish and other edible resources collected or harvested from the beel, a type of
naturally formed wetland. Beels are the depressions with at least a part of the area permanently
inundated by water. They mostly occur in between the rivers and canals. Beels are usually
saucer-shaped depressions of marshy characters. In the rainy season, they are full of water and
resemble lakes. In other seasons, the water level goes down and sedges make them look like
marshes. Some smaller beels dry up completely in winter and the land is used for cultivation.
Surface run-off and small channels or canals that connect them with rivers feed them all.
Bangladesh has a total of about 4,500 beels covering an area of about 11, 41,161 ha.
There are a large number of beels in the northern part of the country. Dinajpur district has no
large beels. Rangpur district has three- Tagrai, west of Kurigram town; Lunipukur, west of
Rangpur town; and Bad beel in Pirganj upazila. In Bogra district there are two large beels, the
Nurail and the Keshpathar. Along the Mahananda River there are several beels, of which Baitia
in Bholahat upazila is the largest. The chalan beel system is very large and consists of a number
of beels connected by channels to form more or less one continuous sheet of water during the
rainy season. The beel zone comprises areas covering Singra and Gurudaspur upazilas of Natore,
Chatmohar, Bhangura, and Faridpur upazilas of Pabna, and Ullapara, Raiganj, and Tarash
upazilas of Sirajganj districts. The present area of the beel is about 26,000 ha.
In the southern part of the country there are far more beels than in the northern part, and also a
number of baors. The larger beels in this area are Kamladaha, Boyra, Boalia, Taleria, Dakatia,
Pabla and many others. In the central part of the country larger beels are few in number. Mention
33
however, may be made of the Hamil beel of Madhupur, and the Rajdhala beel of Netrokona
district. Beels are also scanty in the greater Sylhet areas, where many haors exist, and only small
seasonal beels are found with water in the rainy season. In the Chittagong region large beels are
even fewer. The well-known Gumai beel has been drained but occasionally floods quite deeply.
The beels are generally richer in fishes than the rivers. These waterbodies provide nearly 6.88%
of total inland fish production. The overall production of beels is rather low, only about 560
kg/ha, and therefore the contribution of beel fishery at the national level cannot be said to be
significant (table). This is due to the fact that little or no attention has been paid towards the
better management of the beel fishery system. Various methods and management systems were
tried in the past to economically manage the beels. These included leasing fishing rights to co-
operatives or leasing to fishermen through open auctions. These efforts were not proved to be
very effective as they were exploited by non-fisher middlemen and other agents.
Many different freshwater fish species are available in the beels during the rainy season, while
during the dry winter and summer, the central zone acts as a sanctuary for the fishes. Extensive
fishing is done all the year round. The most common fish species found in different beels are as
follows Mola, Koi, Khoir, Sarpunti, Punti, Titpunti, Catla, Magur ,Singi , Ayeer, Chital, Pabda
Gojar ,Shoal, Mrigal ,Rui, Kalbaus etc. In some beels fish culture is being practised by stocking
the beels with fish fingerlings composed of silver carp, catla, rui, mrigal, grass carp, rajputi, and
common carp. Although capture fishery is the common practice, in some beels isolated large and
deep areas are separated by constructing high dikes around them and are used for intensive
captive fishery.
Baor fishery:
Fishery of the abandoned bow-shaped bend (channel) of rivers. Fish culture in baors is a practice
by which an open water fishery is converted into culture fishery by screening the inlets and
outlets. A number of baors from the capture fishery yield less than 200 kg/ha/year on an average
in comparison to a culture based fishery raising more than 500 kg/ha/year. The capture fishery is
entirely based on small indigenous fish whereas the culture fishery is stocked with 90% carp
34
fingerlings. More than 50 species of indigenous fishes belonging to 31 genera, 20 families, and
11 orders could be found in a boar.
All the baors are now under a constant fishing pressure. The construction of dams and other
flood control structures have reduced the natural recruitment and contributed to stock depletion.
Fishing gears which are used in the baors include gillnets, liftnets, longline, seine nets, cast nets
and also various box-like fishing traps. In Bangladesh, baors are usually found in greater Jessore
and Kurigram districts. Some of the important baors of the country are Bukbhara, Kannadah,
Baluhar, Joydia, Sirisdia, Habullah Rustampur, Sonadia, and Bahadurpur. The total catch area in
the baors is about 5488 ha and the annual production is about 2,460 m tons.
Haor fishery:
Capture of fisheries items from haors, which are natural quarries, mostly encircled by highlands
or hillocks, found in the northeastern part of Bangladesh. Haors are generally richer in fishes
than the rivers. Generally, these vast low-lying areas (haors) are inundated during the rainy
season and become confluent with riverine floodwaters. Fishes are not found in high
concentrations during the monsoon due to increase in water areas.
The haors serve as the natural brood stocks of many indigenous fishes including carps. With the
advent of the dry season water recedes, the relatively elevated parts of haor area begin to dry
when paddy, mostly the boro crop, is raised on the dried upland areas. The relatively depressed
areas, however, remain under water where fishes take shelter. These submerged depressions are
known as beels. Almost all the freshwater fishes are available in haors. In Bangladesh, haors are
usually found in Sylhet area.
Kaptai Lake fishery
The Karnafuli reservoir, popularly known as the Kaptai Lake, situated in the SE part of
Bangladesh, is one of the largest man-made freshwater lakes in the world and the biggest in
southeast Asia. Maximum and mean depths of the reservoir respectively are 35m and 9m with
annual vertical water fluctuations of 8.14 m. The reservoir was formed through damming the
35
main course of the river Karnafuli at the vicinity of Kaptai town in Rangamati Hill District in
1961. As a result of damming, the river Karnafuli and its four other tributaries (Chengi, Mynee
and Kassalong in the North, and Ryangkong in the South) with their surroundings became
submerged and formed the vast H-shaped water body having an water area of about 58,300 ha at
mean supply level. The previous Karnafuli River is not easily traceable now.
Like most of the hydroelectric reservoirs of the world, fishery in the Karnafuli reservoir is a
secondary enterprise. Most parts of the lake spread over the valleys of the hills which were once
covered with patches of dense natural forests and were partially made clear before submergence.
As a result, the shorelines and the basin of the lake are uneven due to hillocks and are strewn
with remnants of teaks and other timber logs obviating easy fishing operations. Fishery in the
reservoir is of the multi-species and multigear type and supports more than 4000 small-scale
fishermen.
Inspite of some unfavourable physico-chemical conditions, such as higher and uncontrolled

water depth, and wide variations in the vertical water temperatures, the reservoir is quite rich in
indigenous diversified fish fauna. About 73 species of fish under 47 genera and 25 families, and
2 species of prawn have so far been recorded from this reservoir. Of the fish species 66 are
indigenous and the remaining 7 are exotic. The population structure was different at the
beginning, but due to change from a riverine to a lacustrine environment, a number of indigenous
species disappeared or changed greatly in number and abundance. On the other hand, a number
of exotic species have been introduced either accidentally, or for enhancing fish production. At
present 31 species are commercially harvested and the rest do not have any commercial
importance, but have other biological uses. Although some species like the major carps are
confronting adverse situations, the reservoir is considered to be one of the important carp
breeding habitats of Bangladesh in respect of its depth, current velocity, turbidity and the
meanders of the river stretches. Intensive studies on natural spawning of major carps in the
Karnafuli reservoir however, is scanty. The fish population of the lake is composed of major
carps 21%, predators 15%, weed fish 44%, and others 20%.
Crab
36
The open brackish-water fish landing in Bangladesh are generally categorized together with
marine landings. The brackish-water culture fisheries generally deal with black tiger shrimp, the
main export commodity of frozen food from Bangladesh. Though brackish-water fisheries
contribute a fraction of marine fish landing in Bangladesh, the area has importance as a breeding
and nursing ground of many marine and freshwater species. A vast number of marine species
utilizes the brackish-water region as nursing ground. The giant freshwater prawn, popularly
known as Galda (Macrobrachium rosenbergii), migrates towards brackish-water from a
freshwater habitat for breeding and returns when young individuals attain post-larval stages.
Similarly many marine species spend part of their life in a brackish-water area and juveniles
travel back to the open sea.
Roughly 25,000 sq km of coastal rivers, natural depression, mangroves, etc fall into the brackish-
water category. Nearly 7,00,000 ha are at present occupied by mangroves, the rest are
deliberately converted into agricultural lands surrounded generally by dikes and embankments.
The open brackish-water areas are generally used for community fishing, but coastal brackish-
water aquaculture is privately owned. The brackish-water estuary, river mouth, canals, etc are
also used for community fishing.
Brackish-water organisms may be classified into 2 categories resident and migratory. Resident
species include mullets, thread fins, saienidaes, perches, Ribbon fish, clupeids, Catfish, Bombay
Duck, Camila, etc. Besides, many penaeid shrimps are also resident. Brackish-water aquaculture
in Bangladesh however, has not yet developed as a total system dealing with production of
finfish and shellfish for domestic consumption and for export maintaining a sound ecological
balance.
Marine shrimp
The commercial caridean shrimp Macrobrachium rosenbergii though a freshwater shrimp breeds
in the estuary of the Bay of Bengal and passes its early life in the estuary. The warm tropical
climate, nutrient-rich water with a salinity range from 12 to 39 ppt and oxygen range from 4.0 to
4.8 ppm are favourable for the rapid growth and development of the shrimps. Fleets of small-
scale fishing crafts such as traditional boats (about 20,000) and motorized boats (about 12,700),
37
engaged in the continental shelf (66,440 sq km) of Bangladesh, use set bag nets (behundies),
trammel nets, beach seines, long lines, gill nets, etc. Shrimps along with fish are caught by these
nets at a depth of 10-50 m. In the offshore waters at 10-100m depth commercial shrimping is
undertaken in the four fishing grounds by a fleet of about 50 shrimp trawlers. Of the four fishing
grounds, the South of South Patches (Southwest of st martin's island) is very important for tiger
shrimp.
About six hatcheries are producing fries of giant tiger shrimp for culture purposes. A large
number of natural giant tiger shrimp larvae are also caught along the coasts of Cox's Bazar and
Khulna with the help of thousands of fine-meshed pushnets, fixed bagnets and dragnets. In such
larvae collections of giant tiger shrimp, a large number of larvae of other shrimps and fish are
destroyed. Marine shrimp fishery provides a livelihood to thousands of people; the country earns
about 270 million US dollars a year from the shrimp export.
Offshore trawler fishery catching fish or harvesting other products at a distance from the shore
by using vessels with trawl nets. The trawl nets are used in deep sea fishing in the Bay of Bengal
especially in the four fishing grounds about the Bangladesh coast. Commercial trawling with
large vessels (21-41m length) commenced around 1978-79. Initially there were only four
trawlers, but it increased to about 130 in 1981. By the late 1980s, 31 shrimp trawlers, 10 finfish
trawlers and 8 combination trawlers were in operation. At present about 70 trawlers are engaged
in offshore fishery.
About 50 species of fish and 15 species of shrimps are recorded in trawl net fisheries in the Bay
of Bengal. The principal species caught in the trawl fishery are, among the shrimp, the Brown
Shrimp and Tiger Shrimp. Major contributions to the finfish catches are silver and Black
Pomfret, Grunts , Indian Salmon, Snapper , Goatfish, Croaker, Mackerel, Lizardfish and
Hairtails/Ribbon fish .
Two types of trawl nets are used for fishing in the Bay of Bengal, the Shrimp Trawl Net and
Finfish Trawl Net. The shrimp trawl catch includes Brown Shrimp, Tiger Shrimp, Indian White
38
Shrimp and Banana Shrimp; finfish are Tigertooth Croaker, Blotched Croaker, Bombay Duck,
Lizardfish, Goatfish and Hilsa shad. The finfish trawl catch includes 20 commercially important
species; of these the Indian Salmon, Grouper, Grunt, Pomfret and Ribbon fish show a relatively
high proportion even in shallow waters (<30m depth). At the 30-80m depth shrimps and some
trash fish are also included in the finfish trawl catches. Smaller penaeid shrimps are caught in
relatively high proportions at <30m. The shrimp catch was about 3,000 m tons in 1990; finfish
landings were about 7,400 m tons in 1986-87. However, 50-65 percent of the small finfish
caught are discarded at sea as trash fish.
Some of the Major Cultured Aquatic Species Information:

Catla:
Habit and Habitat
Catla, the second most important species after rohu (mrigal is third). It is one of the fastest
growing major carps. The fish is found in ponds, lakes, ox-bow lakes, beels, streams, rivers,
canals etc. It is non-predatory and its feeding is restricted to the surface and mid-waters. It is
abundantly found in the Buriganga, Padma, Meghna, and other main river of Bangladesh. It
resides infresh and brackish water being found in tidal influences.
Breeding
Since a riverine environment is required, natural breeding does not occur within ponds, even
though the species attains maturity; thus hormonal induction is required. Among the three Indian
major carps, catla is the most difficult to breed as it requires precise environmental conditions for
39
spawning. Under normal conditions catla grows to 1-1.2 kg in the first year, compared to 700-
800 g and 600-700 g for rohu and mrigal, respectively. It attends sexual maturity in two years.
Production Lifecycle
Harvesting Techniques
Consumers generally prefer catla to be large 1-2 kg. Thus, farmers often resort to harvesting this
species only at the end of the culture period instead of during intermittent harvesting. In
waterbodies where multiple stocking and multiple harvesting are practised, the harvesting of
larger sized fish (over 500 g) is usually initiated after 6-7 months of culture, while the smaller
ones are returned to the pond for further growth. Manually operated dragnets are the most
commonly used gear for harvesting carps. Marketable sized fish are usually harvested through
repeated netting. Cast nets are another important gear frequently used for partial harvesting of
fish in small and backyard ponds.
Handling and processing
Catla are marketed mostly in local markets, where they are sold fresh. The marketing of this
species mostly relies on domestic markets, where it is sold fresh. In large commercial farms
where the harvest is considerable, fish, after washing thoroughly in water, are packed with
40
crushed ice at 1:1 ratio in rectangular plastic crates (usually 60 cm x 40 cm x 23 cm in size).
Long-distance transport of these ice-packed fish in insulated vans is a common practice in
countries like India, where catla are even transported over 3000 km by road to fish-deficit
regions. Post-harvest processing and value-addition of this species is almost non-existent at
present in any of the producing countries.
Production Cost
In general, carp are low-valued species fetching market prices of less than USD 1/kg at the
producers' level; therefore, the use of major inputs such as seed, fertilizers and supplementary
feed, besides labour costs, is kept to a minimum. Supplementary feed constitutes over 50 percent
of the total input cost in carp polyculture; therefore, judicious feed management is of prime
importance for enhancing profits. In extensive systems, with a targeted production level of 2-3
tonnes/ha, the cost of production is about USD 0.30/kg, while the costs increase to USD 0.5-
0.6/kg in semi-intensive culture, where the targeted production is 4-8 tonnes/ha.
Diseases
Mostly eye diseases, ulcer, columnaris, dropsy, Saprolegniasis, Branchiomyosis (gill rot),
Ichthyophthiriasis, Trichodiniasis etc are some common diseases.
Production Statistics
Farmed catla production peaked in 1999, at nearly 608 000 tonnes. India is by far the largest
producer of catla but Bangladesh is also a major producer. Non-species-specific production
statistics in several other countries has been a major constraint in assessing the actual farmed
production of catla.
41
Market and trade
The market for catla is mainly local, where it is generally sold fresh, and often transported to
nearby urban markets with ice. The fish are also transported in insulated vans with ice to fish-
deficit areas of even 2 000-3 000 km distance from the production site. Moderate-sized fish of 1-
2 kg are preferred because the taste declines as they get larger, due to their coarse texture. Catla
and rohu fetch similar market prices, which are usually 10-20 percent higher than those for
mrigal. Locally-produced fresh fish fetches about one and half times higher market price than
iced-fish. Furthermore, when sold live, the market value increases over two-fold compared to
iced fish. Governmental regulation and control over the domestic marketing system for these
aquaculture products are almost non-existent; thus the market price is influenced mainly by
demand and supply. Except for icing for transport, post-harvest processing is almost non-
existent.
Rohu Carp:
Habit & Habitat
Rohu is a eurythermal species and does not thrive at temperatures below 14 C. It is a fast
growing species and attains about 35-45 cm total length and 700-800 g in one year under normal
culture conditions. Generally, in polyculture, its growth rate is higher than that of mrigal but
lower than catla.
The minimum age at first maturity for both sexes is two years, while complete maturity is
reached after four years in males and five years in females. In nature, spawning occurs in the
shallow and marginal areas of flooded rivers. The spawning season of rohu generally coincides
with the south-west monsoon, extending from April to September. In captivity with proper
feeding the species attains maturity towards the end of second year. However, breeding does not
take place in such lentic pond environments; thus induced breeding becomes necessary. The
fecundity varies from 226 000 to 2 794 000, depending upon fish size and ovary weight; on
average it ranges from 200 000-300 000 eggs/kg BW. Rohu is a polygamous fish and also seems
to be promiscuous. The optimum temperature for spawning is 22-31 C.
42
Harvesting techniques
As carp are cultured in ponds and tanks that are usually quite small, manually operated dragnets
are the most convenient gear used for harvesting. The length of these nets depends on the width
of the pond. In most cases fish are harvested at the end of the culture period through repeated
netting. However, in some cases, this is followed by total draining of the ponds. Cast nets are
often used for partial harvesting in small and backyard ponds. In water bodies where multiple
stocking and multiple harvesting are practised, the harvesting of larger sizes (300-500 g) is
usually initiated after six-seven months of culture, and the smaller ones are returned to the pond
for further growth. Multiple stocking and multiple harvesting is the most common practice in
sewage-fed carp culture system.
Handling and processing
Rohu is the most preferred species among the cultivated Indian major carps. The marketing of
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this species mostly relies on local markets, where it is sold fresh. In large commercial farms
where the harvest is considerable, fish, after washing thoroughly in water, are packed with
crushed ice at 1:1 ratio in rectangular plastic crates (usually 60 cm x 40 cm x 23 cm in size).
Long-distance transport of these ice-packed fish in insulated vans is a common practice in
countries like India, where rohu are even transported over 3 000 km by road. Post-harvest
processing and value-addition of this species is almost non-existent at present in any of the
producing countries.
Production costs
producers' level; therefore, the use of major inputs such as seed, fertilisers and supplementary
feed, besides labour costs, is kept to a minimum. Supplementary feed constitutes over 50 per cent
Production statistics
44
India is by far the largest producer of rohu but Bangladesh and, to a lesser extent, Myanmar are
also major producers. Relatively low level production is also reported by Lao People's
Democratic Republic and Thailand.
Market and trade
Almost all the rohu produced from aquaculture is consumed in local markets. Post-harvest
processing is almost non-existent. Rohu is a highly preferred carp and fetches comparatively
high market prices. In most areas, they are either marketed fresh in the local market or carried to
nearby urban markets with ice. Rohu and catla fetch almost similar market prices, which are
usually 10-20 percent higher than that for mrigal. Long-distance transport of the species in
insulated vans with ice, covering distances of 2 000-3 000 km is common practice in India.
However, locally-produced fresh fish fetches about one and half times higher market price than
iced fish. Furthermore, when sold live, the market value increases over two-fold compared to
iced fish. Governmental regulation and control over the domestic marketing system for these
aquaculture products are almost non-existent; thus the market price is influenced mainly by
demand and supply.
Mrigal:
Habit & Habitat
Hatchlings of mrigal normally remain in the surface or sub-surface waters, while fry and
fingerling tend to move to deeper water. Adults are bottom dwellers. Mrigal is eurythermal,
appearing to tolerate a minimum temperature of 14 C. In culture, the species normally attains
600-700 g in the first year, depending on stocking density and management practices. Among the
three Indian major carps, mrigal normally grows more slowly than catla and rohu. The rearing
period is usually confined to a maximum of two years, as growth rate reduces thereafter.
45
However, mrigal is reported to survive as long as 12 years in natural waters. Maturity is attained
in two years in captivity. As mrigal needs a fluviatile environment for breeding it does not breed
in ponds. However, captive breeding in hatcheries has been made possible through induced
breeding by hypophysation and the use of synthetic hormones.
Mrigal is a highly fecund fish. Fecundity increases with age, and normally ranges from 100 000-
150 000 eggs/kg BW. The spawning season depends upon the onset and duration of the south-
west monsoon, which in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan extends from May to September. Mrigal
usually breeds at 24-31 C.
Harvesting Techniques
The bottom dwelling habit of mrigal hinders its effective harvesting by dragnet, the most
common gear used in carp culture. Complete harvesting is possible only through draining. These
harvesting difficulties make mrigal the least preferred species among the three Indian major
carps for farmers. Cast nets are often used for partial harvesting in small and backyard ponds.
Handling & Processing
46
The species is mostly marketed fresh in local markets. However, long distance transport of
mrigal with other carps packed with crushed ice at 1:1 ratio in rectangular plastic crates (60 cm x
40 cm x 23 cm) in insulated vans is often practiced in India. Post-harvest processing and value-
addition is almost non-existent at present in any of the producing countries. During recent years a
small quantity of Indian major carps is being exported from India to the Middle East, degutted
and frozen.
Production Costs
producers' level; therefore, the use of major inputs such as seed, fertilizers and supplementary
feed, besides labour costs, is kept to a minimum. Supplementary feed constitutes over 50 percent
Production Statistics
47
Market & Trade
In all the producing countries, almost all farmed mrigal is consumed in the local market.
Governmental regulations and controls over the domestic marketing system are almost non-
existent in these countries and demand and supply thus influence product value. Being the least
preferred among the three Indian major carps, mrigal fetches comparatively low market prices,
usually fetching 10-20 percent less than rohu or catla. However, consumer preference makes the
prices obtained for these species always higher than those for common carp and Chinese carps.
Tilapia
Habit & Habitat
Tilapia has taken an important role in the commercial fish farming business sector. The weather
and environment of our Asian countries is very favorable for tilapia fish farming. Tilapia fish
farming is also a suitable way of earnings for the unemployed people. Efficiency of
taking natural feed, interests in supplementary feed, surviving in adverse natural condition and
for disease resistance power of tilapia the popularity of it is increasing to the farmer. Tilapia fish
can survive in 12-40 degree centigrade temperature and grows well in 16-35 degree centigrade
temperature. Tilapia can be produced twice a year.
Farming Method
48
Well management is very important to get highest benefit from tilapia fish farming. Tilapia
grows rapidly. The female tilapia can produce minnow for numerous times in a year. So different
sized tilapia can be seen in the pond. As a result of it the farmers do not get desired production.
Naturally, the growth rate of male tilapia is more than the female. The farmer can cultivate only
the male tilapia which will generate more production. This types of cultivation is called mono-
sex tilapia fish farming. This types of tilapia consume supplementary feed and can survive in
averse natural condition even it can be cultivate in high density.
Pond Selection
Select a pond with a depth of 1.5-4 feet for tilapia farming. Bush and unnecessary thing must
have to removed from pond, it will ensure the entrance and availability of sunlight inside the
pond. Proper pond management helps better production.
Nursing Pond
The minnow of tilapia fish should kept in a nursing pond after bringing them from tilapia
hatchery. Before keeping the minnow to the pond you have to be sure about the condition of the
pond. First of all make the pond dry and apply rotenon medicine to remove unwanted and
cannibalistic fish insects and animals. After that, apply 100 kg lime, 500-700 kg dung, 10-15 g
nitrogen, 5-7 g TSP and 2 g MOP per acres. Keep a net around the pond to prevent the fish from
predators like frogs and snakes. After 5-7 days of applying fertilizer, stock 21-28 day old
minnow in the pond. Serve 10-15% feed to the fish according to the weight of the minnow. After
40-60 days of caring and nursing move them to another pond.
Breeding
Breeding process of tilapia fish is not so difficult and the setup of breeding process is very
simple. For breeding purpose the brood-stocks can be placed in a small sized tank and after that
transfer the fry to a larger tank or pond for further farming. It is very difficult to identify male or
female tilapia fish when they are very young. Which is a very big problem for commercial tilapia
fish farming. For this reason the large commercial tilapia producers use hormones or genetically
chosen fish to produce only male tilapia for profitable farming.
Feed
49
Tilapia is generally an omnivorous fish species. They generally consume everything including
algae and various types of aquatic plants. For small or large scale commercial tilapia fish
farming the producers can use commercial tilapia fish feed which are available to the nearest
market. Organic fish feeds are also available for tilapia fish and home made feed can also be
used. Commercial feeds are very healthy and effective for the fish and it provide the highest
growth.
Management
First of all remove different types of unwanted and cannibalistic fish from the pond by using a
net or applying rotenon or other medicine. Apply dung and compost fertilizer every week for
producing natural feed in the pond. In accordance with natural feed serve them
sufficient supplementary fish feed. If you provide supplementary feed according to the demand
of fish then there is no necessity of providing natural feed. When the weight of fish will be more
than 100 g, then it will be better if you change the water of the pond at the rate of 5% daily.
When the average weight of tilapia would 300-500 g then it will be suitable for sale. Collect all
the fish and stock again.
Nowadays the market of talapia is speeding world wide. Our environment and weather is very
suitable for tilapia fish farming. It takes low time in farming and give a great income within a
short time. As the demand and price is high so the farmers are becoming more interested in
tilapia fish farming. Tilapia farming can meet up our demand of protein and make our economy
strong.
Hilsha Fish
Habit & Habitat
Hilsa fish is a fish of saltwater. Thy live in a group in the coastal area of the sea. Hilsa is the
national fish of Bangladesh. Among the total fish production of Bangladesh about 30% is hilsa.
Hilsa fish is also known as some other name, such as ilish fish, elish fish etc. A large number of
the Hilsa fishes are caught every year from the rivers of Bangladesh like, Padma, Meghna,
Jamuna and some others. Generally it is a fish of sea. But during breeding period it comes to the
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big rivers and lays eggs there. As they come to the big rivers during breeding so, they are known
as migratory fish. The minnow or young Hilsa fishes are known as Jatka. After successful
breeding, they swim back to the sea. Fisherman also caught a large number of Hilsa fishes from
the sea. But the Hilsa fishes of river are more tasty than sea fish. As a result, almost all the
people like the freshwater or river Hilsa fish.
Feed
Hilsa fish generally eats different types of plankton. They eat small plant, diatoms, rotifera,
microcystis, oscillatoria, spirogyra, protozoa, alga etc. which are available in the water.
Breeding
Hilsa fish gain sexual maturity at the age of 1-2 year. They do breeding 4-5 times in their whole
life. There are two breeding season of Hilsa fish and they are rainy and winter season. The
breeding period in rainy season is long and short in winter season. During breeding period they
come to the coastal area of sea or in big rivers. They lays eggs there and swim back to the sea
when the minnow become adult.
Shrimp Farming
Shrimp farming is very profitable and it is one of the important and valuable species of fish. It is
a water animal without any backbone. The total fish and fish products produced and exported per
year, 65 percent of those are shrimp or shrimp products. Millions of dollar comes to our country
by exporting fish and fish products. A large portion of that income comes from shrimp. The ratio
of total fish farming production and shrimp production is 41 : 25.
Probability of Shrimp Farming

There are about 0.22 million hectors of shrimp cultivable land in the tropical southern area of our
country. This types of land is very suitable for shrimp farming. About 0.11 million hectors of
those land are being used for shrimp farming using the traditional shrimp farming methods.
Where the farmer can produce highest 180 to 200 kg of shrimp on an average per year. Which is
comparatively very low than other countries. But by using modern shrimp farming methods,
51
producing 5 to 6 tons of shrimps per hector is possible within 6 months. Only a few number of
farmer in our country has started using this shrimp farming method, and they are getting the
benefits of it. If this method can be spread through the whole country then we will be able to earn
millions of dollar per year.
Species of Shrimp
There are about 60 species of shrimp available in our river and sea area. A few species of those
species are very suitable for shrimp farming and those are very profitable. Among those, lobster
and prawn are most profitable for farming. Lobster is cultivated in freshwater. They become big
sized and weights between 250 to 400 grams. Among the saltwater shrimp, prawn is cultivated in
a plenty. It is known as black tiger to the farmer. A little description about this two types of
shrimp are described bellow.
Lobster:
Lobster is a freshwater shrimp. It cant be cultivated without freshwater. Its body is slightly
green to almond shaped or blackish. The outer covering area of lobster minnow is covered with 2
to 5 blackish spot. The rostrum is lofty and curved. The head of lobster is very big and the leg is
very long. The first and second pair of legs is pincering. The second pair of legs of male lobster
is long and bigger than the female lobster. Lobster farming is very profitable.
Prawn
Prawn is a valuable saltwater fish species and being cultivated in saltwater. If the farmer cultivate
the prawn in freshwater, then he will not get the desired production. The color of prawn is brown
or slightly green. Its body is blackish striped spots like the tiger. For this reason it is called black
tiger. The minnow of prawn is almost reddish colored from its heat to tail. This red color turned
slightly green when they starts growing. The rostrum of prawn is curved and wide. There are 8
corrugation in the upper side and 4 in lower side in rostrum.
Silver Carp Fish
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Silver carp fish originated from China. It is very suitable fish breed for commercial fish farming
and grow very fast. Silver carp is a freshwater fish. It is very suitable fish for polyculture with
other carp fish. It is generally a fish of southeast Asia. But nowadays it is available all over the
world.
Feed
Silver carp fish lives in the upper level of water. And eat feed from the upper water level. This
carp fish species generally like small plants and leaves. They also eat decomposed water plant.
Breeding
Silver carp fishes dont lay eggs in the pond. In favorable condition and environment they lays
eggs in open water reservoir. Minnow of silver carp fish can also be produced artificially in the
hatchery.
Fish Feed
Food is the main element for living of all animal. Like other animals fish also needs sufficient
and nutritious fish feed for proper growth and survival. Maximum fish production is not possible
without nutritious feed. The ingredients of well balanced nutritious feed for fish are protein,
carbohydrate, fat, vitamins, minerals and water. The feed like moss or aquatic insects which
produce naturally in the pond is not sufficient for fish. There are some natural feed in the pond
initially which may consumed by fish within a few days. Applying fertilizer in the pond for
producing natural feed also cant make proper and necessary feed production. As a result the
fishes cant grow fast. Along with natural feeds, supplementary feed ensures the fast growth of
fish. So, it is a must to use supplementary feed in the pond for high production of fish within
short time in small place.
Different Types of Fish Feed

Generally fish feed are of two types. Natural feed and supplementary feed. This two types are
described below:
Natural Fish Feed
53
Water is the medium for surviving fish. There are many feeds available in the water which grows
naturally. And this types of feed called natural fish feed. Production of natural feed in water
depends on the normal fertility of soil and water of a pond or stream. Production of natural fish
feed can also be increased in water by using fertilizer. However, a short description of different
types of natural fish feed are described below.
Plankton: Many tiny microscopic plants and animals grows in the water which are called
plankton. This microscopic plants are called phytoplankton and animal is knows as
zooplankton. Chlorella, anabaena, diatom cyclotella, microcystis, spirogyra, ulothrix etc.
are phytoplankton. And some zooplankton are cyclops, daphnia, bosmina, diaptomus,
moina, vorticella etc.
Aquatic plants and insects
Tiny moss
54
Rotted body parts of animal and plants
Basal organic substance of pond
Various types of grasses
Supplementary Fish Feed
For more production of fish some extra feed is needed in accordance with natural feeds in water.
This extra served feed is called supplementary fish feed. Introduction of some supplementary
fish feed are described below.
Rice Bran
Rice dust is like powder. It is very common and cheap. It is a better fish feed. Rice dust contain
about 10-14% of protein. Rice dust also contain vitamin B1, B2, B6 and small quantity of
enzyme.
Mustard Cake
Mustard cake can be found in small sized pieces. It is slightly yellow colored. Mustard cake has
to served to fish by mixing with other food. Fat may gather in the liver of fish for long time
consuming of cake. As a result the fish may die. Mix maximum 40% of cake in the fish feed. But
dont use dry cake more than 20%. Mustard cake contain 30-32% protein. It also contain a high
rate of fat.
Wheat Chaff
Wheat chaff contain fiber. It controls many types of fish diseases. Amount of fat in wheat chaff is
low. So, it is better than rice dust as feed. Amount of protein in the wheat chaff is 10-15%.
Maize
Maize is yellow colored grainy feed. It is the best among the vegetate supplementary feed.
Generative fish gain maturity vary fast by feeding maize. Maize contain protein, carbohydrate,
fat, vitamin A and E.
Cotton Seeds
It contain about 54% protein. It is a better ingredients for supplementary fish feed.
Tiny Moss:
There are various types of moss available. They are of green colored. They are floaty water
plants. This types of moss contain about 14-20% protein.
55
Fish Powder
Fish powder or fishmeal are brown colored. It is easily digestible to fish. Fishmeal contain about
55-60% protein.
Bone Powder
The color of bone powder is dim white. It is very necessary for building fish-bone. The ratio of
calcium and magnesium in the bone dust is 2 : 1.
Animal Blood
The dry animal blood is coppery colored. It can be found in the slaughter house. Blood is used as
fish feed by mixing with other feed. It is an ideal feed ingredients for catfish. Liquid blood
contain 63% and dry blood contain 82% protein. Two necessary amino acids are available in the
blood of animal.
Innards of Animal
Innards of animal is a very suitable and ideal feed for catfish. It contain 52% protein.
Vitamin
Vitamin is a necessary ingredients of fish feed. It keeps the fish healthy and disease free.
Others
Along with the above mentioned feed ingredients, the fish also need some more elements in their
feed. Vitamin premix, salt etc also helpful for fish.
However, for better production of fish it is very necessary to provide supplementary feed along
with natural feed of fish.
Fish Diseases
Almost all types of animal suffers by diseases once or more during its lifetime. Fish are not the
exception. They also get affected by different types of fish diseases. Diseases are the main
obstacle for successful fish farming. But due to various reasons the fish of pond and this types of
source are suffers much than open source like the river and sea. So, the fish of pond suffers from
different types of diseases. By using modern farming methods in fish farming we can reduce
diseases in fish. The common diseases of fish and its remedy are highlighted below:
Ulcer disease of fish

The shol, gojar, taki, pumpti, bain, koi, mani, mrigel and fish of low water label are suffered by
56
this disease. The affected fish of this disease can be identified by red spots in its skin. The shape
of this spot generally increase rapidly. The tail, back side and mouth are most affected places.If
the fish infected by ulcer then the infected fish of the pond should removed immediately. The
affected fish should keep in 100 g of salt mixing with 10 litters of water, then remove them to the
pond again. To prevent this disease and keep the fish health well 1 kg of lime and 1 kg of salt
should apply before the winter season come. This will keep the fish free from disease during the
winter season.
Stomach swelling
Ruhita fish and catfish are mostly affected by this disease. The main landmarks of this disease is
that the color of its body become pale. Due to water storage in the stomach the belly of the fish
become big sized. The fish lost the balance of its body. Affected fish moves here and there and
this is the main fish symptoms of disease. The fish meet death quickly. This disease generally
happens for Aromonads bacteria.
The water from the stomach should removed by a empty syringe. After that 25 mg of clorem
fenicle injection should apply for every one kg of fish or 200 mg of clorem fenicle powder may
mix with the food and feed the fish. 1 kg of lime can use according to the size of the pond. In this
case it is essential to use fish meal with the food of fish. Besides this it is important to ensure the
natural food and sufficient supplementary food.
New technology to boost fish cultivation

The average growth rate of fisheries has been 5.4 per cent in the last 10 years, while aquaculture
shows a growth rate of 8.2 per cent.
According to the Bangladesh Economic Review 2015, fisheries contribution to the national GDP
is 3.69 per cent and it constitutes 23.12 per cent of the countrys agricultural GDP. The
potentiality of Bangladesh is enormous in terms of fish farming.
Recently, the Mini RAS (re-circulation aquaculture system) fish cultivation system has been
introduced in Bangladesh for the very first time. The primary objective of this technology is to
satisfy the market for smaller intensive fish production systems. This system is designed in such
a way that it can accommodate all common aquaculture fish species. This system is adequate for
57
producing at least 10 tonnes of fish per year.
The monitoring and feeding process of this system is entirely automatic. This is the perfect
solution for utilising existing facilities and a nursery for fry and fingerling production. The
optimal water conditions, plain design, and minimal level of energy consumption are some of the
core traits of this technology.
Mini RAS for Bangladesh Catfish Farm
AquaLifeNet partnered with JAK International to bring the latest biological filtration technology
to a Catfish farm in Mymensingh, Bangladesh.
The team installed a Biofishency Mini Re-circulation Aquaculture System (Mini RAS) to treat
and re-circulate the water. Biofishencys project partner, Upgrade Solutions, provided eight
corrugated metal fish tanks with PVC liners suitable for high density fish farming. 0.5 g Catfish
fingerlings were put into the tanks and after just 7 weeks they had reached a weight of 18 g.
This system is expected to increase the farms production capacity way beyond that of a
conventional fish pond aquaculture system, with a smaller land requirement. Inside a space of
just 3,200 square feet they now expect to produce 10+ tonnes of Catfish per year. It is already
producing healthy and uniform size fish in high volume and with less mortality. By reducing the
water requirement and adopting a low feed conversion ratio, the farm is also able to reduce its
ongoing costs.
This RAS project was designed specifically for Shing and Deshi Magur Catfish, with Pabda and
Gulsha Tengra strains also being tested in this project. This Biofishency filtration technology can
be modified for all types of fin fish and shrimp. It is already in use in India and the Middle East,
where it is even suitable for use in arid and desert conditions with indoor fish ponds.
Advantages & Features of Indoor RAS
58
Very high stock density ( 20-60KG/M3 or more against 1 -2 KG/M3 in open pond)
allowing many times higher production capability in comparison to traditional open pond
culture.
Very small area of land required compared to regular extensive open pond culture.
Much less manpower required than traditional Extensive systems lowering labor costs.
Water is mostly re circulated thereby reducing water requirement drastically
Water is filtered off waste, feed residues and TSS. Around 90% removal of TAN ( Total
Ammonia and Nitrogen ) by Bio filtration.
Fish grown faster than pond since all parameters are properly controlled.
The fish grown are almost uniform in sizes, healthier, as well as taste better.
Uniform fish grading & 100% harvesting is possible.
Optimum Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR) with pellet/floating feed there by reducing feed
cost. Consume much less feed than open pond.
The culture area is housed in closed sheds. Very less chance of getting disease.
Fish cannot escape from tank thereby no chance of getting loose in wild population.
Culture associated with high protein feed available in Bangladesh.
Sustainable culture for producing clean fish free from odd smell and chemical/medicine.
Being indoor, free from all natural calamities ( Rain, Flood, Drought etc.) and
predators( Birds, snakes and animals). Can be secured from theft and other hazards
(adding poison etc.)
59
Independent of season & time of the year hence year round production possibilities.
Waste can be utilized as organic fertilizer in agricultural farming ensuring added income.
Sustainable farming practice and absolutely zero environmental impact.
Greater flexibility for location & hence can be located near market for better earning.
Modular in design having potential for quick expansion
Species Suitable for indoor RAS
Cat Fish/Deshi Magur

Clarias batrachus
Cat Fish/Deshi Singi

Heteropneustes fossilis
60
Hybrid Catfish/Magur
Bhetki / Barramundi
Lates calcarifer
Gulsha / Tengra
Mystas Cavasius
61
Technology and Infrastructure
The technology behind the mini RAS is as following:
An enclosed and controlled fish growing facility
6 - 8 fish growing tanks per unit
Water purification and re-circulation system with Oxygen enrichment
Water Bio filtration system to remove TAN and CO2 stripping
Settling tank for solid waste fertilizer from mechanical filter
Storage / holding tank for fish before selling
Aeration system
Standby Power Generator
Mini RAS System Elements
Central water purification system with Mechanical & Bio Filter
62
6 - 8 Fish growing tanks per unit
Pipes, Valves, Sensors
Pumps & Blowers
Aerators/Air blowers
Generator
A shed covering the whole unit
Bio Filtration System
All-in-one filtration system
Mechanical filter remove solids
CO2 stripper/atmospheric O2 enrichment - prevents

toxicity + increases O2 levels
Proprietary biological filter - removes Total

Ammonia Nitrogen (TAN)
Aeration for higher density of fish
Improved water conditions increases fish ability to

feed, and grow
63
FLOW CHART
Scope of Services
Site Analysis: Service provider/distributor will provide guidelines for site identification.
Business Plan: With relevant site data in hand, Service provider team will suggest the
64
proposal/business plan to suit the chosen site.
Required construction plan & drawing
Installation and trial run
Advise on stocking and start up
Set up feed specification and advise sourcing
Good Aquaculture Practice Operating Manuals
Staff Training and technology transfer
Periodic supervision and trouble shooting
After sales service by trained technical personnel as per contract
Consultancy services on different aspects of fish culture by expert aquaculture

consultants on demand against fees
References:
http://www.jak-intl.com/adp.php
http://www.roysfarm.com/fish-farming/
http://www.fishbase.org/Aquaculture/AquacultureProfileSummary.php?
ID=82&GenusName=Labeo&SpeciesName=rohita
http://www.fishbase.org/country/CountryChecklist.php?vhabitat=saltwater&c_code=050
http://www.marinefreshbd.com/ship.html
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Fish Hatcheries Market in Bangladesh

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Fish Hatcheries Market in Bangladesh

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Fish Farming in Bangladesh

Prepared by: Zerin

1. Selecting suitable area/land:

2. Pond Construction & Design

Export Earning (2nd largest, next to Ready-Made Garments-RMG) 2.01%

Shrimp Export from Bangladesh:

Animal protein supply () 60%

(Source: Department of Fisheries Report, 2015)

Fish Production (2013-14) 3.548 m MT

Bangladesh stands fourth in fish production:

Inland Closed Water (in million ha) 0.741 m ha

Pond/dighi (nos. 2.5 million) 0.338 m ha

Inland Open Water (in million ha) 4.025 m ha

River and Estuary 0.854 m ha

Marine Fisheries Resources

Marine Water (Territorial) 9,060 km2

Inland capture fisheries:

The Status of Aquaculture in the IO Region:

Bangladesh in Global Fisheries position

Well Enriched in Fish Biodiversity:

Freshwater fish species 260

Based on Accommodation: Fishes are of three types based on their accommodation:

Artemia is a planktonic crustacean about 12 mm in length and adapted to living in highly

Oyster fishery culture

Kaptai Lake fishery

Inspite of some unfavourable physico-chemical conditions, such as higher and uncontrolled

Some of the Major Cultured Aquatic Species Information:

Habit and Habitat

Handling and processing

Habit & Habitat

Handling and processing

Market and trade

Habit & Habitat

Handling & Processing

Habit & Habitat

Habit & Habitat

Probability of Shrimp Farming

Silver Carp Fish

Different Types of Fish Feed

Natural Fish Feed

Supplementary Fish Feed

Ulcer disease of fish

New technology to boost fish cultivation

Mini RAS for Bangladesh Catfish Farm

Water is mostly re circulated thereby reducing water requirement drastically

Uniform fish grading & 100% harvesting is possible.

Culture associated with high protein feed available in Bangladesh.

Sustainable farming practice and absolutely zero environmental impact.

Modular in design having potential for quick expansion

Species Suitable for indoor RAS

Cat Fish/Deshi Magur

Cat Fish/Deshi Singi

The technology behind the mini RAS is as following:

An enclosed and controlled fish growing facility

6 - 8 fish growing tanks per unit

Water purification and re-circulation system with Oxygen enrichment

Water Bio filtration system to remove TAN and CO2 stripping

Settling tank for solid waste fertilizer from mechanical filter

Storage / holding tank for fish before selling

Standby Power Generator

Mini RAS System Elements

Central water purification system with Mechanical & Bio Filter

Pipes, Valves, Sensors