Biodiversity and Management Status of Charia beel in Northern Bangladesh

Purpose: The aim is to study the condition of aquatic species in the Charia beel. A good management technique is developed for protecting biodiversity and productions of the beel in order to ensure food security. Subjects and Methods: Primary data was developed by a semi-structured questionnaires and primary data was collected by field observation which comprised of selected area of the beel basin, survey of different fishing methods, conducted a series of Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), applying Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK) and Key Informant Interview (KII). Secondary data were collected from the Department of Fisheries (DoF), comprehensive literature review and internet sites. The code of IUCN was followed to categorize the status of the beel and to compare the trend among different years Shannon index was followed. Results: A total number of 91 species (83 wild fishes, four prawns, one crab, one snail, and four species of turtles) belonging to 65 genera were identified from the Charia beel. About 10 types of operative fishing gear and craft were found in the river. The increasing rate of using current jal (20.50-30.50%) and Kapuri jal (14.60-18.00%) were identified as detrimental gear used to kill the different species during four years. A common increasing trend of using current jaal, Kapuri jaal (seine net) and FAD (Fish aggregating device) were identified as detrimental gear killing different species between 2016 and 2019. The fish productivity decreased dramatically from 184.52± 55.04 to 141.65± 57.66 mt within four years and the total production percentage (%) also sharply decreased from 8.88% mt to 23.23% over the same period. Conclusion: Commercially important 06 aquatic species namely Sarpunti (Puntius sarana), Napit (Badis badis), Gajar (Channa marulius) and Turtles (Kachuga tecta,Morenia petersi and Lissemys punctata) were regional extinct, 18 commercially important aquatic species were at the edge of extinction (critically endangered, CR), 35 species endangered (EN), 23 species vulnerable status (VU), five species were identified as lower risk (LR) and only four species of the river were not threatened (NT) in position between 2016 and 2019 in the this beel.

Assessment of fish diversity and socio-economic condition of fishermen in Bangladesh

The main objectives of the study were to determine the present status of fish biodiversity and socio-economic condition of fishermen in Belai beel during February 2016 to September 2016 by survey method using questionnaires, field visit and interviewing with the fishermen. The results indicated that about 27 species of fish fauna were found in the Belai beel, among them 23 species were indigenous and 4 species were exotic. Major dominant species were Rui (Labeo rohita), Catla (Catla catla), Bata (Labeo bata), Shingi (Heteropeneustes fossilis), Magur (Clarius batrachus), Tengra (Mystus tengra), Chanda (Chanda nama), Kakila (Xenentodon cancila), Common carp (Cyprinus carpio), Mola (Amblypharyngodon mola) in the study area. During the study period two critically endangered (Puntius sarana, Pangasius pangasius), two endangered (Labeo bata, Channa marulius), and three vulnerable (Chanda nama, Channa orientalis, Notopterus notopterus) fish species were found in the Belai beel. Analysis of socio-economic condition of fishermen showed that maximum (70%) had nuclear family and others (30%) had joint family, as well as fishermen, belonged to the age groups of 31 to 40 years (50%) and the others were 15 to 30 (20%), 41 to 50 (18%), 51 to 60 (10%), 61 to70 (2%). Overall, the present study suggested that fishermen communities should be educated by creating awareness for the proper conservation, management, and enhancement of biodiversity in the Belaibeel.Asian J. Med. Biol. Res. March 2018, 4(1): 69-76

Present status of fish diversity in the Beel Kumari in relation to fish sanctuary and fishing gears

The study was conducted on Beel Kumari beel (wetland) in Rajshahi, Bangladesh from October 2013 to September 2014. A total of 52 species of fish were recorded and the dominant species was Mystus tengara (Tanagra (9.75%). Exotic species like bighead carp (Aristichthys nobilis), silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) and common carp (Cyprinus carpio) were also commonly found. Of the indigenous species, Ompok bimaculatus, Puntius sarana, Pseudeutropius atherinoides, Botia dario, Mystus aor and Chitala chitala were abundant, though these species were rare before the establishment of the fish sanctuary. Four groups of fishing gears i.e. net, trap, spear and harpoons and line fishing were found to use, among them 8 types of net, 7 types of trap, 4 types of spear and harpoon and 4 types of line fishing were recorded. Among these gill net contributed to the highest catch (32%) and push net was the lowest (6%). Most of the respondents (80%) were found to believe that their fish catch had increased considerably due to impact of fish sanctuary establishment and effective community based fisheries management approach employed in this beel.