WWW.WAS.ORG • WORLD AQUACULTURE • DECEMBER 23 Over the last decade, dramatic increases in the production of a variety of species from commercial aquaculture systems and sharp increases in per capita fish consumption have occurred in Bangladesh. This transition has been made possible by widespread adoption of semi-intensive and intensive production practices, accompanied by growth in the production and use of aquafeeds. Findings relating to the current status of aquaculture in Bangladesh have been reported in greater detail elsewhere (Belton and Azad 2012). This article provides a brief overview of the status of aquaculture and fish consumption in the country and presents new information on the status of aquafeed production in Bangladesh, drawn from a recent study of the aquafeed industry. This article is based on key findings of a report published by WorldFish on the status of aquaculture and fish consumption in Bangladesh (Belton et al. 2011) and presented at the AQUA 2012 conference in Prague. The Current Status of Aquaculture and Fish Consumption Production systems in Bangladesh are characterized and defined as follows: • Homestead pond culture — carp-dominated low-intensity production conducted on a semi-subsistence basis, using limited management, labor and capital investment. • Semi-intensive or intensive culture in commercial ponds — entered as a productive investment with moderate to high capital costs and frequently employing hired labor. The Current Status of Aquaculture and Aquafeed Production in Bangladesh Mamun-Ur-Rashid, Ben Belton, Michael Phillips and Manjurul Karim • Shrimp and prawn culture — mainly extensive Penaeus monodon culture and semi-intensive Macrobrachium rosenbergii cultivation in modified ricefields. • ‘Others’ — including stocking fish in natural water bodies and enclosed floodplains, rice-fish culture and cage culture (Table 1). Approximately 4.27 million rural households, or 20 percent of the total, own a homestead pond (average area = 600 m2) excavated close to the family dwelling for multiple uses, including washing and bathing (Fig. 1). Low-intensity carp polyculture in this type of pond has been the traditional mainstay of aquaculture in Bangladesh, usually producing fish on a subsistence basis for home consumption with a small marketed surplus. Despite the large number of homestead ponds, covering a cumulatively large area of over 260,000 ha, more than 70 percent of total aquaculture output now originates from systems operated on a fully commercial basis. Homestead pond culture is usually a minor component of the overall household farm economy and often makes opportunistic use of existing ponds at low opportunity cost. In contrast, commercial pond culture is usually a distinct enterprise involving a major capital investment. Furthermore, whereas fish produced by homestead aquaculture is generally marketed locally in small quantities, much of the fish produced from commercial pond culture is moved in bulk directly from the farm to wholesalers in divisional cities or Dhaka (Fig. 2). (CONTINUED ON PAGE 24) TABLE 1. Estimated annual aquaculture production in Bangladesh for 2010 (Belton et al. 2011). Source Area (ha) Productivity (t/ha) Quantity (t) % of total production Semi-subsistence homestead ponds 266,259 1.5 399,389 29 Commercial semi-intensive ponds 111,950 3.5 391,668 29 Commercial intensive ponds 15,000 10-40 395,000 29 Shrimp and prawn 244,294 0.4 97,746 7 Others 45,063 0.2-1.5 71,114 5 Total 682,566 n/a 1,354,944 100 FIGURE 1. Homestead pond with fruit and vegetable cultivation on dykes.
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