As fish are important to human beings for they have long been a staple food item, the government is going to cultivate indigenous freshwater fish commercially to protect the dwindling of the many species and also to meet their high-demand across the country.
Moreover, the government has also taken various measures to protect the species of indigenous freshwater fish now on the verge of extinction.
It now concerns many that several fish species and stocks have collapsed, while many others will meet the same fate in the near future.
Apart from these, 25 indigenous freshwater fish species which are either threatened with extinction or disappeared completely, will be brought back to the country’s rivers, canals, ponds and other water bodies like beel, haor and jheel.
In this regard, a project to protect and develop the local species of fish and snails with Tk 202.04 crore has been approved in the last Executive Committee of the National Economic Council meeting.
On the other hand, the Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute (BFRI) has been successful in inventing acommercial method of cultivating 23 almost extinct local species of fish including Pabda, Gulsha, Gujiayir, Rajputi, Chital, Meni, Tengra, Foli, Balachata, Shing, Mohashoal, Gutum, Magur, Beral, Kunchia, Bhagna, Khalisha, Kalibaoush, Koi, Bata, Gojar, Swarputi and Ganimachh.
A senior scientific officer of BFRI said the BFRI has been researching commercial farming of local species, which are on the verge of extinction from rivers and beels.
He said “We are preserving these fish and then producing fries from them through artificial breeding.”
Research on breeding and cultivating some local fish including Dhela, Shalbain, Kakila and Angus Bholis also going on, he added.
Planning Minister MA Mannan told The Bangladesh Post, “The government has taken various measures including research activities to reproduce endangered species of local fish.”
He mentioned many local fish species have disappeared and some species are going to face extinction.
“The Foli, Rani and some other local varieties of fish, the taste of which I have not been able to forget, are on the brink of extinction,” Mannan said adding that, “This generation does not even know the names of these local fish.”
As part of its move, a new scheme has been taken by the government for protection and development of local species of fish and snails with Tk 202.04 crore, he added.
He said the main objectives of the project for preservation of local fish species and snails are to protect, preserve and thus boost the production of local fish species alongside snails.
“The larger and ultimate goal of the government is to preserve the local species,” he added.
However, the Department of Fisheries under the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock will implement the project by June 2024 at some 49 upazilas under 10 districts of the South-Western region of the country.
The main project objectives include raising the internal water bodies fish production of those areas to 4.46 lakh metric tons from 3.8l3 lakh metric tons, holding some 392 local fish species farming exhibitions alongside 15 snail exhibitions, holding some 110 paddy field fish farming demonstrations alongside 392 fish farming demonstrations at pans and capacity development of some 1,08,847 beneficiaries.
Rounak Mahmud, fisheries and livestock secretary, said, “The government has emphasized more on protecting the local species.”
“Local species of fish will come back,” he said adding that, “We are going for artificial breeding of these species, so researchers are working on bringing back the original taste of the fish alongside increasing production.”
The fisheries and livestock ministry wants to keep the prices of these species of fish within the reach of common people, he added.
However, the government has taken up different fisheries-friendly policies to protect local fish species.
Local small fish production in ponds increased to 2.41 lakh metric tons in 2017-2018 fiscal year from only 67,340 tonnes in 2009.
