Hilsa shad (Tenualosa ilisha) is the national �sh of Bangladesh. It is the most popular �sh within the countries of the Bay of Bengal region due to its taste, �avor and look. Moreover, it contains essential micronutrients and omega-3 fatty acids.

During 2002-03, the hilsa production went down to below 0.2 million tons that led the Gov. to formulate the Hilsa Fishery Management Action Plan (HFMAP). Since the implementation of HFMAP, hilsa production showed an increasing trend @5%/year till 2015. To improve its annual incremental production further, Department of Fisheries and WorldFish jointly started implementation of “Enhanced Coastal Fisheries in Bangladesh (ECOFISH-Bangladesh)”, a USAID funded �ve-year initiative (2014-2019). The overall objective of the project is- “Improved resilience of the Meghna River ecosystem and communities reliant on coastal �sheries”.

Recently, over a million of Rohingya refugee in�ux from Myanmar to Cox’s Bazar region, especially in Teknaf and Ukhiya areas, the Zone of Resilience (ZOR), that has created enormous impacts on all natural resources including �sheries biodiversity. This has led to the su�erings of a vast number of the Naf River and coastal host �shing communities. USAID’s ECOFISH has started a broad-based assessment of the ecology and biodiversity of coastal and marine waters to enhance conservation as well as livelihood improvement of the a�ected host �shing communities through better utilization of aquatic resources in the ZOR, Cox’s Bazar.

Background

ECOFISH-BangladeshEnhanced Coastal Fisheries in Bangladesh Project

Focus Areas• Science-based co-management in hilsa sanctuaries & ZOR, Cox’s Bazar• Improved resilience of the Meghna & the Naf River ecosystems• Improved resilience of the coastal �shing households• Improved women savings, access to resources and technologies

The project supports the Department of Fisheries (DOF) and local communities to establish a collaborative science-based “co-management” that focuses on the reduction of over�shing, protection of juveniles, protection of brood in the peak spawning season through involving all stakeholders. The community supports have been ensured through organizing the community groups and promoting community empowerment focusing on women and their livelihood diversi�cation for improved resilience to endure compliance during �shing ban periods. Special attentions would be directed to the a�ected host �shing communities in the Zone of Resilience (ZOR) along the Naf River and Cox’s Bazar-Teknaf coastline.

Approach

Theater of Operation (ToO)

152 Villages 36 Upazila 12 Districts

Project Name Enhanced Coastal Fisheries in Bangladesh (ECOFISH-Bangladesh)

Donor USAID

CGIAR Research Program FISH-CRP

Project DurationJune 2014-December 2019

Zones of InterventionZone 1: Zone of Resilience (ZOR), Cox’s Bazar, focusing on Ukhiya & Teknaf

Zone 2: Meghna River Ecosystem (MRE) in Barisal, Bhola, Barguna, Jhalokathi, Pirojpur, Patuakhali, Laxmipur, Noakhali, Chandpur & Shariatpur districts

PartnersBFRI, BAU, CU, CRC/URI USA, RU, PSTU, NSTU, CVASU, VFAP, CODEC, CNRS, COAST Trust, Shushilan, IUCN, WCS, iiED & UPM

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WorldFish, in partnership with DoF, IUCN & WCS, facilitated the Gov. to declare the Nijhum Dwip Marine Reserve (3,188 sq.km) Zone of Resilience (ZOR), Cox’s Bazar

• Livelihood support as AIGAs for host communities• Improving women’s access to �nance• Supporting sea-weed farming and marketing• Supporting hygienic dry �sh production & marketing• Biodiversity assessment and conservation• Fish stock assessment and catch monitoring• Co-management/EAFM institutions strengthening• Fish landing centers improvement & landing monitoring

Meghna River Ecosystem (MRE)• Max. Sustainable Yields of hilsa 0.526 million tons estimated• 22-day peak spawning season of hilsa in October established• Allowable mesh sizes 6.5 cm to catch hilsa • Fish biodiversity of the Meghna River assessed, eg. cat�sh• 3 Hilsa sub-populations identi�ed (marine, Meghna & Padma)• 100 Citizen Scientists introduced for �sh catch monitoring• 575 HCGs formed involving 20,000 members (30% women)• 63 HGGs formed in �sh landing centers (Ghat)• 133 Fisheries Management Committee formed• 400 Trained Community Fish Guards engaged• 63 Co-management committees formed at di�erent levels• 148 Community Savings Groups formed (US$ 125k saved)• AIGA supports @ BDT. 10-30k/hh for 20,000 hhs provided• Created Hilsa Conservation Fund with US$ 0.5 as seed money• ToT on EAFM provided for DOF, BFRI, NGOs & WorldFish o�cials

Key Outputs/Activities

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2014

510 g 535 g

880 g

2015 2016

Average size of hilsa improved

Contact: Dr. Md. Abdul Wahab, Team Leader, ECOFISH-Bangladesh Project, WorldFish, Bangladesh O�ce; House 2/B, Road 4, Block B, Banani-1213, Dhaka. Phone: +88-02-8813250. E-mail: A.Wahab@cgiar.org

Abundance & size of cat�sh improved

Fishers’ household income increased (Baseline 2016, Endline 2018)

Total 52%

84,645BDT

128,818BDT

6,869BDT

15,990BDT133%

On-farm income

14,690BDT

17,140BDT17%

Non-farm income

63,086BDT

95,688 BDT52%

Fishing income

2006/07

Hilsa catch increased

Total: 279,189Tons

2014/15

Total: 387,211Tons

2017/18

Total: 517,000 Tons

Outcomes