Bangladesh second in freshwater fish production

Bangladesh has risen from third to second place in the world for freshwater fish production, surpassing China, which has now dropped to third. India remains at the top of the list.

This information comes from the "The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture" report published on Saturday by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

The country held the fifth position consecutively for five times before 2020.

The report, which is released every two years, used data from 2022.

The ranking is based on fish harvested from open waterbodies such as rivers, lakes, and wetlands. However, Bangladesh has dropped from third to fifth place in terms of fish harvested from ponds and other enclosed waterbodies.

In 2023, Bangladesh produced a total of 48 lakh tonnes of fish, including 32 lakh tonnes from fish farming and 13 lakh tonnes from open water bodies. Half of the fish from open water bodies were hilsa, with a total production of 6.5 lakh tonnes of hilsa in 2023.

Dr Md Zulfiqar Ali, director general of Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute, said the country's efforts to conserve open waterbodies and ban fishing during the hilsa breeding season have led to increased fish production.

BFRI scientists have developed artificial breeding and advanced farming techniques for 40 out of the 261 fish species found in Bangladesh's open waterbodies. These methods are helping increase fish production in ponds, lakes, and rivers.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh is 14th in marine fish production and ninth in crab farming.

Around two crore people in the country are involved in fish farming and related businesses. The per capita fish consumption has risen from 7.5kg in 1990 to 30kg now.

FAO's report shows that Bangladesh produces 13.22 lakh tonnes of freshwater fish, accounting for 11.7 percent of the global total, up from 11 percent in the previous report.

India leads with 18.9 lakh tonnes while China comes after Bangladesh with 11.66 lakh tonnes.

Myanmar, Indonesia, and Uganda are next on the list.

The 2022 report notes that global fish production hit a record 223.2 million tonnes, valued at $313 billion, a 4.4 percent increase from 2020.