Inland Capture Fisheries Sub-Strategy, 2006.

The management of the inland capture fisheries must balance a diverse set of demands on the resource. These demands come from various different policies that are conflicting in their objectives: maximizing short term production or managing the resource, ensuring its ability to naturally recruit and to conserve its biodiversity; managing access for the wider community reliant on fisheries, or to generate maximum revenue for the government through the lease of water bodies. There is also a balance to be made with other parts of the fisheries sector i.e. aquaculture and marine capture fisheries (both artisanal and commercial). These may be better able to supply the demands for fish for the urban population and meet the demands for economic growth and export earnings. This strategy is aimed at producing a guideline for the implementation of the inland capture fishery components of the National Fisheries Policy (1998) as applicable (pag. 1).
The sub-strategy at field level is based on establishing a national framework which supports local (Upazila level) decentralised implementation. It aims to enable user communities to make and implement resource management plans that achieve productive sustainable fisheries where poorer fishers derive the majority of benefits. In order to support this, local government must be strengthened with the establishment of a fisheries management committee to compliment the main development committee of the Upazila. The strategy aims to ensure that a national plan is in place to establish sustainable management for all types of inland water bodies. A priority would be the establishment of a network of sanctuaries that will provide dry season refuges for broodstock that will naturally restock the flood plains and rivers. It also requires other technical management options such as habitat restoration, controls to the fishing effort and stocking. This requires strong central advocacy and lobbying to ensure that these measures are declared and enforced. Similarly the importance of dry season flows should be maintained through inter-governmental dialogue supported by advocacy from all stakeholders. It also requires that issues affecting fisheries are understood by policy makers and that these concerns are taken on board (pag. 1).
Objectives of the National Fisheries Policy (Development Goal) are: 1. enhance fisheries production and development 2. alleviate poverty through creating self-employment and improvement of socioeconomic conditions of fishers 3. meet the demand for animal protein and improve public health 4. achieve economic growth and increased foreign currency earnings by exporting fish and fisheries products 5. maintain an ecological balance and conserve biodiversity. Objective for the Strategy To attain sustainable management of the Inland Capture Fisheries for the local fishing and user communities through collaboration of all concerned partners (pag. 3).
To ensure that the management of the inland capture fisheries is for the benefit of local communities and is planned and administered with the objectives of the inland capture fisheries strategy as the goal and is supported by the collaboration of all concerned partners. • Resource use planning: Ensure that the resource is used in a planned way and managed for its long term viability, focusing on the key objective of the inland capture fishery strategy. • Local planning and decentralization: Organisational change within the Department of Fisheries and local administration of jalmohals and wetlands allowing decentralization of planning, implementation and monitoring of support activities to ensure that fisheries are sustainably managed by user communities particularly fishers (pag. 5).
To ensure that the environment and the biodiversity of the inland capture fisheries is conserved through adopting appropriate ecosystem management regimes, the strategy shall carry out the following activities: Identify the impact that Inland Capture Fisheries has on the environment and the environment has on it and develop plans to mitigate against negative aspects of these. Through improved monitoring of water quality and pollution ensure that the causes of pollution within the vicinity of fisheries are identified and actions are taken to redress these and identify other industries that have enhanced pollution threats during the dry season which may also impact of the water quality of fisheries, etc. (pag. 8).