Sustainable freshwater fisheries in Bangladesh: problems and pathways forward
Abstract
Bangladesh is one of the leading countries in global fish production; however, numerous problems and challenges persist. This paper summarises the problems faced by seven major stakeholder groups in the country’s fisheries sector: (i) fish farmers, (ii) freshwater fishermen, (iii) fish traders, (iv) fish seed producers, (v) fisheries administrators and extension personnel, (vi) researchers and (vii) fish consumers. Fish farmers reported 19 problems, with transportation issues being the most common (35% of respondents), followed by the lack of quality fish seed (20%). Freshwater fishermen reported 13 problems, with reduced fish catch as the most common (65%), followed by the shrinkage of fishing habitats (15%). For freshwater fish traders, lack of preservation and storage facilities was the most common problem, reported by 80% of respondents. Seven problems were reported by finfish seed producers; among the top-ranked, lack of quality brood and its high price were most common, reported by 60% and 40% of respondents respectively. Fisheries administrators and extension personnel reported nine problems, with insufficient manpower being the most common, reported by 70%. Eleven problems were reported by fisheries researchers, with inadequate research funding as the most common, reported by 60%. Fish consumers reported five problems, including price hikes and insufficient supply of native fishes. The results of this study will be useful in prioritising problems and formulating effective policies for the sustainable development of the fisheries sector in Bangladesh and other countries facing similar challenges.
References
Ahmed F, Luyten W, Paeshuyse J (2025) Disease management and biosecurity adoption status in finfish aquaculture: insights from Bangladesh. Aquaculture International 33: 184.
Alam MS, Yousuf A (2024) Fishermen's community livelihood and socio-economic constraints in coastal areas: an exploratory analysis. Environmental Challenges 14: 100810.
Al-Worafi YM (2024) Research publication in developing countries: achievements and challenges. In: Al-Worafi YM (Ed) Handbook of medical and health sciences in developing countries. Springer, Cham.
Asimi O, Khan I, Baba S, Javeed H, Wani FF (2023) Fish meal and other alternatives in the diet of fish. Theoretical Biology Forum 12(2): 289–296.
Atas N, Dabrowski V (2025) Understanding the cost-of-living crisis in the United Kingdom. Social Policy & Administration 59(2): 195–196.
Avdelas L, Avdic-Mravlje E, Marques ACB, Cano S, Capelle JJ, ... Asche F (2021) The decline of mussel aquaculture in the European Union: causes, economic impacts and opportunities. Reviews in Aquaculture 13(1): 91–118.
Boyd CE (2017) General relationship between water quality and aquaculture performance in ponds. Fish diseases prevention and control strategies (pp. 147–166). Academic Press.
Chandan CSS, Roy P (2024) Aquaculture practices in Bangladesh: a synopsis on prospects, productivity, and problems. Journal of the World Aquaculture Society 55(1): 4–25.
Deb P (2025) From feed to fish: the impact of input factor and uncertainty shocks in Bangladesh aquaculture market. Aquaculture Economics & Management 30 (1): 28–49.
Emon MMH (2023) A systematic review of the causes and consequences of price hikes in Bangladesh. Review of Business and Economics Studies. 11(2): 49–58.
FAO (2024) The state of world fisheries and aquaculture 2024 – blue transformation in action. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome.
Faruk A, Ferdous MH, Mithu M, Uddin MM (2023) Assessment of aquaculture knowledge and identification of training needs of the fish farmers in Bangladesh. Middle-East Journal of Scientific Research 31(1): 32–43.
Galib SM, Hoque MN, Akter S, Chaki N, Mohsin ABM (2016) Livelihood, climate change and fisheries: a case study of three fishing communities of northwestern Bangladesh. International Research Journal of Social Sciences 5(8): 18–25.
Galib SM, Lucas MC, Chaki N, Fahad FH, Mohsin ABM (2018a) Is current floodplain management a cause for concern for fish and bird conservation in Bangladesh’s largest wetland? Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 28(1): 98–114.
Galib SM, Mohsin ABM, Parvez MT, Lucas MC, Chaki N, ... Islam MN (2018b) Municipal wastewater can result in a dramatic decline in freshwater fishes: a lesson from a developing country. Knowledge and Management of Aquatic Ecosystems 419: 37.
Galib SM, Naher S, Arnob SS, Khatun MT, Reza MS, ... Lucas MC (2023) Stakeholders' knowledge of threatened freshwater fishes and their involvement in fishery value chains in order to assist conservation in developing countries. Frontiers in Freshwater Science 1: 1239605.
Gärtner A, Leising D, Schönbrodt FD (2024) Towards responsible research assessment: how to reward research quality. PLoS Biology 22(2): e3002553.
Ghosh E (2023) Study on the impact of price hikes on the standard of living among different socioeconomic groups in the Khulna Division of Bangladesh using cross-sectional and multinomial logistic regression analysis. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Growth Evaluation 4(5): 988–1016.
Haque ABMM, Khan MA, Hossain MM, Hossain ME, Nahiduzzaman M, Islam MS (2025) Improved aquaculture management practices and its impact on small-scale rural aquaculture farmers in Bangladesh. Aquaculture 594: 741459.
Hasan MS, Haque SA, Enam S, Hasan MM, Islam MT, ... Al Jufaili SM (2025) Socio-economic status of fishermen: a case study in the Bangali River region, Bangladesh. International Journal of Agriculture and Biosciences 2025 14(4): 657–663.
Hossain B, Nur AAU, Ahmed MM, Ullah MA, Albeshr MF, Arai T (2022) Growth, yield and profitability of major carps culture in coastal homestead ponds stocked with wild and hatchery fish seed. Agriculture 12: 1131.
Hossain M, Sun J, Kashmi NS, Lucas MC, Galib SM (2025) Socio-ecological complexity in managing long-standing invasive water hyacinth in wetland agriculture and fisheries. People and Nature 7(10): 2407–2420.
Hossain MF, Rahman MM, Trường NPĐ, Chakroborty K, Majumdar BC (2024) Fish availability, market conditions, and livelihood status of traders in a dry fish market in northern Bangladesh. Ege Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 41(2): 115–125.
Hridoy AAM, Neogi S, Ujjaman R, Hasan M (2025) Water quality interactions and their synergistic effects on aquaculture performance in Bangladesh: a critical review. Results in Chemistry 16: 102306.
Hur JD, Nordgren LF (2016) Paying for performance: performance incentives increase desire for the reward object. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 111(3): 301–316.
Islam MN, Kitazawa D (2013) Modeling of freshwater wetland management strategies for building the public awareness at local level in Bangladesh. Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change 18: 869–888.
Islam MR, Hoque MN, Galib SM, Rahman MA (2013) Livelihood of the fishermen in Monirampur Upazila of Jessore district,Bangladesh. Journal of Fisheries 1(1): 37–41.
Islam MR, Olowe OS, Mely SS, Hossain MA, Das M, Zaman MFU (2023) Review of the current situation, problems, and challenges in fish seed production and supply for Bangladesh’s aquaculture development. Aquatic Living Resources 36: 32.
Kashmi NS, Hossain M, Yi C, Sun J, Lucas MC, ... Galib SM (2026) Existing open-access river barrier databases fall far short for fisheries and biodiversity management needs in south Asian transboundary rivers. Hydrobiologia. DOI: 10.1007/s10750-025-06092-w
Kashmi NS, Sarker MAH, Mim JS, Hossain MM, Lucas MC, Galib SM (2025) Conservation challenges for threatened Indian flapshell turtle Lissemys punctata (Lacépède, 1788) in the largest wetland of Bangladesh. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 35(3): e70119.
Khatun MT, Parvez MT, Singha S, Sun J, Lucas MC, ... Galib SM (2025) Understanding the human dimensions of trade in endangered Ganges River dolphin. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 35(12): e70267.
Klein J (2022) Improving the reproducibility of findings by updating research methodology. Quality & Quantity 56: 1597–1609.
Li G, Li G (2022) Labor costs rising and the behavior of enterprises: transfer or innovate? Proceedings of the 2022 International Conference on mathematical statistics and economic analysis (MSEA 2022). Advances in Computer Science Research.
Mohsin ABM, Islam MN, Hossain MA, Galib SM (2012) Constraints and prospects of carp production in Rajshahi and Natore districts, Bangladesh. University Journal of Zoology, Rajshahi University 31: 69–72.
Mramba RP, Kahindi EJ (2023) Pond water quality and its relation to fish yield and disease occurrence in small-scale aquaculture in arid areas. Heliyon 9(6): e16753.
Mredul MMH, Uddin ME, Pervez AK, Yesmin F, Akkas AB (2020) Food aid programme during restricted hilsa fishing period: effectiveness and management perspective. Journal of Fisheries 8(1): 752–761.
Owusu V (2025) Effect of rising fuel prices on small-scale fisheries livelihoods and marine sustainability in Ghana. PLoS ONE 20(1): e0317260.
Parvez MT, Mohsin ABM, Arnob SS, Lucas MC, Chaki N, ... Galib SM (2023) Fish diversity decline in the lower Gangetic plains: a victim of multiple stressors. Biodiversity and Conservation 32: 341–362.
Parvin I, Islam KMN, Islam SN (2022) A comparative study on fish availability and marketing system of fish markets in Mohammadpur, Dhaka, Bangladesh. World Journal of Fish and Marine Sciences 14(3): 38–50.
Phuong TV, Pomeroy RS (2025) Vietnam’s capture fisheries labor shortage explored: difficulties and responses. Journal of Fisheries 13(2): 132205.
Pomeroy R, Arango C, Lomboy CG, Box S (2020) Financial inclusion to build economic resilience in small-scale fisheries. Marine Policy 118: 103982.
Rahman A, Khan MNA, Kamal, Reza S (2021) Sources of off-flavor in pangasius catfish (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus) ponds. Journal of Aquaculture & Marine Biology 10(3): 138–144.
Rayhan N, Schneider P, Islam MS, Rashid A, Mozumder MMH, ... Shamsuzzaman MM (2021) Analyses of protection and conservation according to the Fish Act 1950 in Bangladesh’s Kaptai Lake fisheries management. Water 13(20): 2835.
Salager-Meyer F (2008) Scientific publishing in developing countries: challenges for the future. Journal of English for Academic Purposes 7(2): 121–132.
Shalehin MS, Parvez MT, Lucas MC, Galib SM (2022) A case study of illegal fishing causes during seasonal fishery closure in Kaptai Lake, Bangladesh. Fisheries Management and Ecology 29(5): 542–551.
Stobart RL, Jeffs AG, Skelton BM (2025) Fish predation in bivalve aquaculture: impacts and potential mitigation strategies. Reviews in Aquaculture 17(3): e70028.
Talukdar S, Islam MA, Ferdaus M (2022) Factors influencing public policymaking process in Bangladesh: a comparative study of recent public policies. Bangladesh Journal of Public Administration 30(2): 101–114.
Thibault-Landry A, Schweyer A, Whillans AV (2017) Winning the war for talent: modern motivational methods for attracting and retaining employees. Compensation & Benefits Review 49(4): 230–246.
Copyright (c) 2026 The Author(s)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
