48 MARCH 2014 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WAS.ORG (Pido 1995, Pido et al. 1996, Townsley 1996, IIRR 1998) to obtain detailed information about community-based aquaculture and available resources applied to farming systems in waterlogged areas. Participatory observation offered a good opportunity to obtain a comprehensive and authentic insight into the actual situations of the evaluation topic including “actions, conversations, and physical descriptions” (Gittleson and Mookherji 1997). Quantitative data were collected from notes made during site-visits, key informant interviews, farm record books and secondary data from departments and organizations, such as the Department of Fisheries (DoF), Greater Noakhali Aquaculture Extension Project (GNAEP) and the Department of Meteorology. Data were included for each stage of aquaculture, including site selection, dike renovation, pond preparation, water intake, fry transportation, stocking, feeding, harvesting and marketing of cultivated fishes. Return-onInvestment (ROI) was used to evaluate the economic efficiency of an investment or to compare the efficiency of a number of different investments. To calculate ROI, the net benefit (return) of an investment was divided by the cost of the investment. If an investment has a positive ROI, or if there are other opportunities with a lower ROI, then the investment should be undertaken and continue. 22°50¢ and 23°05¢ N and longitude 90°00¢ and 91°10¢E. No river or tributary exists in Begumgonj. Rainwater is trapped, making the low-lying paddy lands waterlogged during the rainy season. Areas were estimated for suitability for nursing fry (about 2,000 ha), rearing cultivable species to market size (16,000 ha) and broodstock rearing and conservation to ensure natural recruitment of small indigenous species (SIS) in the following year (4,000 ha) (Das and Hossain 2009). Within the waterlogged area, an area of 4.5 ha in Eklashpur village was selected for community-based aquaculture development and demonstration (Fig. 2). In the area, four 0.1-ha ponds with a water depth of 70-80 cm during the dry season were used for conservation of SIS broodstock. The four ponds and paddy land were leased (US$143/y) and tilled before the subsequent paddy farming season. Fish farmers were also required to give fish from the harvest to landowners. Natural precipitation acted as spawning stimuli for previously stored SIS broodstock. Data Collection Qualitative data were collected through participatory approaches such as focus-group discussions, participatory observation and key informant interviews. Focus-group discussions were conducted by forming small groups with 5-8 community members specifically selected to address a specific topic (Saint-Germain et al. 1993, Fraser and Restrepo-Estrada 1998, Neogi 2001). Participatory tools were used in different observations and group meetings FIGURE 3. Monthly average 20 years rainfall variation in Maijdee, Noakhali (Source: Bangladesh Meteorological Department, Dhaka). FIGURE 4. Small Indigenous Species (SIS) and farmed fishes from ponds of a community-based farming systems in Begumganj, Noakhali. FIGURE 2. Experimental site for a community-based aquatic production farming system in Begumganj, Noakhali.
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