Enhanced Coastal Fisheries in Bangladesh (ECOFISH—Bangladesh) Project brief October 2018 to December 2019 Project Summary ECOFISH supported coastal fishing communities and other fisheries value chain stakeholders to improve the resilience of the Meghna River ecosystem and communities reliant on coastal fisheries. The primary pathway is through the establishment of adaptive co-management in hilsa shad (Tenualosa ilisha) sanctuaries supported by advancement in fisheries science and promoting alternative income-generating activities, biodiversity conservation, and development of policies and incentives for fisheries conservation. Research country Contribution to Outcomes Bangladesh 4,275 households adopted management Donor 1 practices United States Agency for International Development (USAID) 20,966 people, of which 50% are women, Project duration 2 assisted to exit poverty 2014 – 2019 121,158 Hectares pond area under improved Budget 3 management USD 13.5 million Partners  Bangladesh Agricultural University - BAU Bangladesh  Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute - BFRI Innovations developed  Chittagong Veterinary and Animal Sciences University - CVASU  Boneless Hilsa products (Hilsa soup, Hilsa noodles and Hilsa minced cubes) developed Partners (continued) (Read more) Community Fish Guards (CFGs) enhanced  Coastal Association for Social  Transformation Trust - COAST Trust compliance in coastal biodiversity conservation (Read more)  Community Development Centre - Smartphone-based Citizen Science Approach CODEC  for Improved Fish Catch Monitoring (Read  Hathay Bunano Proshikan Society - more) HBPS  Gangetic Hilsa ecotypes/races and its return to  International Development Enterprises natal river for spawning discovered by genetic  International Institute for Environment analysis (Read more) and Development - IIED  International Union for Conservation of 2,599 people trained of which 43% are Nature – IUCN women  Jagannath University – JNU Topics  Patuakhali Science and Technology  Community Fish Guard University - PSTU  Fisheries Management, Co-management  Sylhet Agricultural University - SAU Bangladesh  Small Scale Fisheries (SSF) Symposium  The University of Rhode Island - URI  Marine Coastal Seeweed and Green Mussel  Wildlife Conservation Society - WCS Cultivation  Safe Dried Fish Production: Processing, Stor- age and Marketing  Appropriate Mesh-size  Leadership Development  BLS Facilitation Outcome Impact Case Reports  Hilsa Production and Fishers’ Income Increased due to co-management strategies aimed to enhance the socio-economic resilience of fishing communities (Read more)  Community Savings Schemes Financially Empower Coastal Fisher Women in Bangladesh (Read more)  The declaration of Marine Protected Area (MPA) to generate more sustainable fishing and livelihoods while protecting the marine biodiversity (Read more) Publications Asaduzzaman, M., Wahab, M.A., Rahman, M.J. et al. Fine-scale population structure and ecotypes of anadromous Hilsa shad (Tenualosa ilisha) across complex aquatic ecosystems revealed by NextRAD genotyping. Sci Rep 9, 16050 (2019) DSpace: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12348/3812 Asaduzzaman, M.; Igarashi, Y.; Wahab, M.A.; Nahiduzzaman, M.; Rahman, M.J.; Phillips, M.J.; Huang, S.; Asakawa, S.; Rahman, M.M.; Wong, L.L. Population Genomics of an Anadromous Hilsa Shad Tenualosa ilisha Species across Its Diverse Migratory Habitats: Discrimination by Fine-Scale Local Adaptation. Genes 2020, 11, 46. DSpace: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12348/3878 Mozumder, M.M.H.; Pyhälä, A.; Wahab, M.A.; Sarkki, S.; Schneider, P.; Islam, M.M. Understanding Social-Ecological Challenges of a Small-Scale Hilsa (Tenualosa ilisha) Fishery in Bangladesh. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16, 4814. DSpace: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12348/3877 Wahab, A. et al. (2019). The Potential for homestead pond polyculture of tilapia and carps in coastal Bangladesh. Journal of Fisheries Science, 1(1). DSpace : https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12348/3877 Asaduzzaman, M.; Rahi Noor, A.; Rahman, M.M.; Akter, S.; Hoque, N.F.; Shakil, A.; Wahab, M.A. Reproductive Biology and Ecology of the Green Mussel Perna viridis: A Multidisciplinary Approach. Biology 2019, 8, 88. DSpace: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12348/3876 References 1Eco-Fish project report Oct 2018 – Dec 2019, pages 16, 17: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12348/4026 2Eco-Fish project report Oct 2018 – Dec 2019, pages 14, 15: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12348/4026 3Eco-Fish project report Oct 2018 – Dec 2019, pages 13, 15, 21: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12348/4026 Acknowledgements This work was undertaken as part of the CGIAR Research Program on Fish Agri-Food Systems (FISH) led by WorldFish. The program is supported by contributors to the CGIAR Trust Fund. Funding support for this work was provided by USAID in the framework of ECOFISH. Contact Program Manger: Wahab Abdul In partnership This publication is copyrighted by WorldFish. It is a licensed for use under the April 2020 Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.