Fisheries co-management in hilsa shad sanctuaries of Bangladesh: Early experiences and implementation challenges

Abstract

National fish hilsa was declining in Bangladesh. The government of Bangladesh took several measures like the establishment of sanctuaries, bans on catching of brood hilsa and its offspring jatka, and reduced the illegal gears. USAID/ECOFISH-Bangladesh project joints hand with the coastal fishing communities and stakeholders by establishing an adaptive fisheries co-management in hilsa shad sanctuaries as one of the key strategies to revitalize the once-degraded stock of hilsa shad in the Padma-Meghna riverine-coastal habitats. ECOFISH research analysed the pre-implementation processes of coastal co-management, institutional arrangements, implementation activities, as well as challenges for fisheries co-management that are currently being implemented in the Padma-Meghna riverine-estuarine system. The success of hilsa sanctuaries co-management in riverine waters in Bangladesh and its concomitant benefit of the revival of a declined hilsa fishery and increase in overall biodiversity can be lessons for other countries with similar fishery species, rivers, and coastal waterscapes.