Fish catch in Bay drops 21% in three years, hilsa plummets 78%
Official figures show that the volume of fish caught by commercial trawlers dropped by 21% – from a record 1,46,000 tonnes in the 2022-23 fiscal year to 1,16,000 tonnes in FY25
Highlights:
- Commercial fish catch in Bay fell 21% since 2023
- Hilsa catch plunged 78%, alarming scientists and industry
- Pollution, overfishing, and silted rivers blamed for decline
- Number of harvested species dropped from 112 to 57
- Bangladesh lags in deep-sea fishing despite vast sea zone
- Vessel owners face high costs, poor catches, and bad weather
The country's commercial fish catches in the Bay of Bengal have fallen sharply over the past three years, raising alarm among scientists and industry leaders and leaving vessel owners struggling to cover the high cost of each voyage.
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Official figures show that the volume of fish caught by commercial trawlers dropped by 21% – from a record 1,46,000 tonnes in the 2022-23 fiscal year to 1,16,000 tonnes in FY25.
The steepest fall was recorded in hilsa, the country's most prized fish, whose commercial landings fell from 8,138 tonnes to just 1,790 tonnes, a staggering 78% drop over the same period.
Sardine-like fish have seen a similar, though less severe, decline. Their catch dropped by 44% over the three years, from 50,783 tonnes to 28,564 tonnes in FY25.
Among other species, marine shrimp production increased from 1,954 tonnes to 3,022 tonnes, while catfish dropped from 5,646 tonnes to 2,524 tonnes. The latest figures also include 936 tonnes of pomfret, 2,644 tonnes of croaker (lakkha), 12,066 tonnes of cuttlefish, 4,635 tonnes of ribbonfish, 4,120 tonnes of jewfish, and 5,019 tonnes of eel.
Compounding the crisis, the number of commercially harvested species has dropped dramatically from over 112 to just 55-57, indicating a significant loss of biodiversity.
Statistics from the Department of Marine Fisheries show a fluctuating but now declining trend. In FY19, the harvest was 1,07,236 tonnes. It rose gradually to 1,15,354 tonnes in FY20, 1,19,121 tonnes in FY21, and peaked at 1,46,037 tonnes in FY23, before falling back to 1,14,804 tonnes in FY24 and 1,16,650 tonnes in FY25.
Pollution, overfishing and silted rivers blamed
Researchers have attributed the sharp decline to a combination of plastic, metal, chemical and oil pollution, uncontrolled overfishing, and indiscriminate trawling in shallow breeding zones. They also point to environmental degradation in rivers that feed nutrients into the Bay of Bengal.
Bangladesh's 119 rivers supply nutrients that sustain marine food chains, but widespread siltation of estuaries has blocked this flow, reducing the nutrient input into the sea. As a result, fish stocks have declined even in deeper waters.
Although Bangladesh has sovereign rights over 118,813 square kilometres of sea, commercial trawlers currently operate in only 27,000 square kilometres. Repeated fishing in the same areas has further depleted stocks of commercially valuable species, while limited investment and poor infrastructure have prevented expansion into deeper waters.
Officials at the Marine Fisheries Department remain cautious about declaring a structural decline
Marine scientists have warned that escalating pollution is crippling fish reproduction. A recent study found that microplastic concentrations in the Bay of Bengal are almost double those in the South China Sea.
"The Bay has one of the highest microplastic pollution levels in Asia. We also detected non-biodegradable PFAS chemicals and persistent organic pollutants (POPs) from pesticide runoff. These disrupt reproduction and reduce food sources," Majharul Islam, researcher and instructor at the Bangladesh Marine Fisheries Academy, told TBS.
Overfishing and illegal trawling
The Marine Fisheries Department has 266 licensed commercial trawlers, of which around 232 are active, joined by nearly 66,000 smaller mechanised and non-mechanised boats.
Despite a legal ban on fishing in waters shallower than 40 metres, trawlers frequently violate the rule, using sonar to locate shoals and deploying illegal fine-mesh nets that trap juvenile fish. Bangladesh has also never conducted a Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) survey, leaving policymakers without reliable data on safe catch limits.
Unreported fishing is another problem. Vessel owners often under-report catches to the department, leaving the true harvest unknown.
Enam Chowdhury, president of the Bangladesh Marine Fisheries Association, said: "Commercial trawlers account for only 12% of total marine catch. The other 88% comes from over 70,000 small boats, most of which fish in shallow waters using illegal nets. They overexploit the resource, often without reporting catches. At this pace, Bangladesh's marine fishery will collapse."
He urged the government to enforce stricter monitoring and stop illegal fishing. "Otherwise, we will destroy our marine wealth in no time," he warned.
Regional gap and missed opportunities
When Bangladesh joined the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission in 2018, officials expected a boost in deep-sea catches, especially of tuna. However, progress has been minimal.
In 2022, Sri Lanka landed over 2,70,000 tonnes of tuna and tuna-like species, while Bangladesh managed fewer than 3,000 tonnes. Despite having a larger Exclusive Economic Zone than India or the Maldives, Bangladesh remains far behind in deep-sea fishing.
Studies suggest that Bangladesh could sustainably harvest up to 5,00,000 tonnes annually, yet current catches barely exceed 1,16,000 tonnes. Industry leaders say the sector lacks investment, estimating that at least Tk1,000 crore would be required to develop deep-sea tuna fishing capacity.
Vessels struggle with voyage costs
According to the Bangladesh Marine Fisheries Association, a fishing vessel sailing to the deep sea for a 17-20 day voyage requires diesel worth Tk1-1.2 crore depending on its size. It also needs provisions for one month and other supplies. Including all expenses, daily operating costs range from Tk7-11 lakh. After completing a voyage, vessels return with 40-100 tonnes of fish depending on their size and luck.
"The large companies that did not buy ships with bank loans can scrape by with the poor catch and survive. But those that bought vessels with loans are struggling to make a profit after paying instalments," said Enam Chowdhury.
"Another big issue is bad weather, which often restricts us from going to sea or forces us to return early. A ship can only complete 7-8 voyages a year," he added.
Officials cautious on causes
Officials at the Marine Fisheries Department remain cautious about declaring a structural decline.
Moin Uddin, director of statistics at the department, told TBS, "Compared to last year, the catch in FY25 is slightly higher. Bad weather limited trawler operations in April-May, which explains much of the fall. Repeated fishing in the same areas may also have reduced stocks temporarily, but we cannot say fish are disappearing based on one or two years of data."
He added that Bangladesh lacked survey vessels until 2016. "Now that we have begun stock assessments, it will take a few more years before we can accurately estimate marine resources."
Still, he admitted that overfishing, shallow-water violations, and illegal nets are serious problems. "The department is conducting regular drives to curb these practices," he said.
