Marine fish catch falls 16.57 percent in five years, sea share of total output down to 11 percent

Despite the opportunity to use the fish resources of the Bay of Bengal, the marine fish catch in Bangladesh is in steady decline. According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), the marine catch fell by 16.57 percent over the five years up to the 2024-25 fiscal year.

The sea's contribution to the country's total fish production has also fallen, to 11.12 percent in 2024-25, compared with 21.88 percent in the 1983-84 fiscal year.

Department of Fisheries figures show that small and traditional boats caught 513,819 tonnes of marine fish in 2023-24, but that fell to 451,661 tonnes the following year. Over the same period, the catch by industrial trawlers rose from 114,804 tonnes to 116,651 tonnes.

This divergent trend underlines the need to regulate fishing areas and methods. When large trawlers fish in shallow water, competition with small-scale fishers increases, while extra pressure can also build on particular species.

One of the sector's biggest weaknesses is the lack of reliable, up-to-date information on marine fish stocks. It is difficult to determine which species are present where and in what quantities, and how much can be caught while still allowing stocks to recover.

As a result, uncertainty remains in verifying the commercial potential of deep-sea fish such as tuna and in assessing investment risk in the sector. Alongside modern fishing technology, suitable vessels, preservation facilities and skilled manpower, species-based research and a coordinated system for collecting data at fish landing centres are needed, the report noted.

Environmental risks are adding to the crisis facing marine fish resources. Changes in water temperature and acidity, pollution and coastal development activities can affect fish habitats and roaming grounds. Illegal fishing, and fish and other marine animals becoming trapped and dying in nets abandoned at sea, are further risks.

Tackling these problems requires regular scientific surveys, conservation of breeding grounds, control of illegal fishing and effective surveillance to remove abandoned nets from the sea. Overfishing, limited deep-sea fishing capacity and weak surveillance are making the crisis more complicated.

According to the Department of Fisheries, the fisheries sector contributed 2.53 percent of GDP and 22.26 percent of agricultural GDP in 2023-24. In the same year, export earnings from fish and fish products were 4,531 crore 86 lakh taka. That figure is the export income of the entire fisheries sector, not of marine fish alone.

If the downward trend in the catch continues, it can affect fish supply and market prices as well as the income and employment of coastal fishers and related businesses. Setting catch policy according to marine fish stocks, enforcing restrictions and increasing deep-sea fishing capacity are therefore now important both for conserving fish resources and for using the economic potential.