Fishery resources trends and community-based management approahes adopted in the river Titas in Bangladesh

Abstract

During 1997–2002, a Community Based Fisheries Management (CBFM) project was implemented to monitor fish catches in two sections of the River Titas (Goshipur to Gokornaghat section and Ka section), an important tributary of the Meghna River in Bangladesh and the lower Indo-Gangetic Plains. The study covered fishing activities, fisher’s participation in managing fishery resources, gear-diversification, changes in fishing patterns, and overall catch and effort. Fish catch monitoring results showed that production and species diversity increased over the duration of the project, due to the community management approach, which encourages participation of fishers, beneficiaries and communities in managing the renewable fishery resources. The study revealed that during 1997 to 2002 annual fish production increased by 233% and 15% in the two river sections, respectively. Overall species diversity increased by 30% in the river in 2002 compared to the baseline composition. However, overexploitation was observed in the Ka section of the river where professional fishers and catch through fish aggregating devices prevail.