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Conserve Hilsa. Increase the Production.

Hilsa shad conservation and

economic incentives

Group 5

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Tenualosa ilisha

Family: Clupeidae

Estuarine or a Marine Fish

Contributes 1% of GDP in Bangladesh

It is also the national fish of Bangladesh.

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A popular food fish in South Asia. Five types of ilish can be found worldwide.

Yearly ilish caught are 5,000,000 tons. Among them, 50%-60% are caught by Bangladesh.

About 450,000 people are directly involved with the catching for livelihood; around four to five million people are indirectly involved with the trade.

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• Over Fishing– Overfishing takes place at the spawning season (‘recruitment

overfishing’) when hilsa migrate from the sea to rivers and

– During the grazing, feeding and development season, when juvenile jatka are less than 23 to 25 cm long (‘growth overfishing’).

Reasons Behind The Reduced Catch Of Hilsa In 2002-03 Season

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Closed fishing areasRestriction on fishing gearRestricting the fishing season andRegulation for fishing vessels.

Few Steps Taken By Govt. That Helped To Increase The Hilsha Production From 2003

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• Hilsa Fisheries Management Action Plan (HFMAP) was the major project to target hilsa conservation in 2003.

• The action plan’s activities included• Involving public representatives, • Riverine rallies, raising awareness through the media, • Distributing leaflets and posters to protect jatka, • Enforcing the fish protection and conservation act, establishing hilsa

sanctuaries,• An eleven-day fishing ban in major spawning grounds• Offering alternative livelihoods for jatka fishers.

Establishing The Hilsa Conservation Programme

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Increase hilsa production by protecting jatka and brood hilsa Provide support to strengthen and enhance hilsa sanctuary Reduce the pressure on jatka numbers caused by fishing in sanctuary

areas Create alternative job opportunities for jatka/hilsa fishers Raise mass awareness about jatka/hilsa conservation.

Objective Of This Project

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Table 2. Food grain distribution and AIGA program, 2008–2014

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Table 03. Food grain distribution flow chart

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• Hilsa fisher households affected by the fishing ban have been given 40 kilograms of rice per month since 2013 (an increase on the previous allowance) during the ban period.

Economic Incentives For FisherHouseholds

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• The DoF implements the project through its three units: 1. The central office (based in dhaka), 2. The district fisheries office and 3. The upazila fisheries office.

Economic Incentives For FisherHouseholds

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• The objective of the AIGA program is;1. To improve the livelihoods of households affected

by fishing restrictions.2. To provide need-based training, refresher courses

and microcredit to enable hilsa fishers to do activities like business.

Alternative Income Generation Activities(AIGA)

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• Some households have been provided with- Rickshaws, Goats, Cows (for fattening), Sewing machines, as well as cash for small businesses, Net making, Poultry, Plant nurseries, Kitchen gardening and Cage culture

Alternative Income Generation Activities

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Each year law enforcement agencies run a number of mobile courts and other operations to seize illegal jatka or hilsa catches and file cases against offending

fishers under the Mobile Court Ordinance 2007.

Enforcing Regulations

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Table 04: Jatka Management Activities By Law Enforcing Agencies

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Table 05: Brood Hilsa Management Activities By Law Enforcing Agencies

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BANGLADESH, A WORLD MODEL FOR HILSA PRODUCTION

Among the 11 countries where hilsa is found, Bangladesh is the only country where production of this silver fish is on the rise.

Hilsa production has been increasing at the rate of 8% to 10% every year in Bangladesh.

World fish says, Bangladesh is the leading country in hilsa production with 65% of all hilsa.

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An Assessment Of The Hilsa Shad Management Program

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Challenges To The Program Design

1. Some hilsa sanctuaries are not accurately demarcated.

2. The fishing ban period in sanctuary areas is not properly enforced.

3. Incentives are only given to hilsa fishing households.

4. The banned monofilament net (current jal) used for jatka fishing is still openly produced.

5. Cases of illegal jatka fishing have increased.

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Challenges To The Program Design

6. Incentives are not given during all fishing ban periods.7. Key players in the hilsa fishing industry do not support the management program.8. Households receive inadequate incentives.9. Household size is not taken into account when giving incentives.10. Few fishers engage with support for alternative income generating activities

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Challenges To The Program Design

11. During fishing ban periods fish consumption falls to zero.12. Fisher households need further financial support.

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Challenges For Implementing Agencies

• Despite its many achievements, the economic incentive program is facing some challenges by implementation agencies;

1. Department of Fisheries ( DoF ) and 2. Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute (BFRI).

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Challenges Faced By DoF

The Department of Fisheries lacks crucial human resources.

In Upazila Fisheries Offices are sometimes left vacant.

Gathering the ‘mobile court’ team in time to enforce fishery regulations is difficult.

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Recommendations For Program Design

Accurately demarcating and identifying hilsa sanctuaries Excluding non-target fishers from the incentive program Including non-hilsa fishers in the incentive program Distributing other necessities such as nutritious food as well as rice Taking household size into consideration while distributing incentives

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Recommendations For AgenciesTo carry out the program effectively.The Dof needs the support of additional human,

physical and financial resources.To create a new post of ‘fisheries regulation

officer’The BFRI could also collaborate with universities

and other research institutions.

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Conclusions

Hilsa production has been increasing at the rate of 8% to 10% every year in Bangladesh.

The government provided identity cards to around 224,000 hilsa fishermen in a bid to give them a three-month access to social security during the ban period.

India and Myanmar have already started following Bangladesh model to increase their hilsa production.

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THANKS TO ALL