The government
should take up a
countrywide scheme to make the habitats of naturally bred local varieties of fish safer and increase the extent of such habitats
Disappearing of tasty naturally bred fishes
That many local varieties of naturally bred fishes are facing extinction fast is a worrying piece of information. Once the rivers, marshes, canals and ponds of the country were the repositories of many local varieties of fish. Those would meet the demand for protein for the people of the country. But gone are those days. The local varieties of delicious fishes like Koi, Shing, Magur, Pabda, Puti, Chingri, Tengra, etc., are on the verge of extinction.
The causes for the extinction of these fishes are not far to seek. Indiscriminate use of current nets, killing of mother fishes, pollution of water bodies and use of insecticides in crop fields that wash down into water bodies are mainly responsible for the extinction of our local fishes. Besides, there is a dearth of safe sanctuaries for fish. With the rise in population the demand for fish is also increasing. There is a wide gap between the demand and supply of fish. Many rivers, marshes and canals have dried up in the country. As a result, production of fish has also declined. There are rivers like the Padma, Meghna and Jamuna. These rivers do not dry up during the lean season. With the onset of the rainy season, the fishes from these rivers take shelter in the small rivers, marshes and other water bodies and lay eggs there. In this way, the people living in those areas get some local fishes for consumption. But there are areas in the country where there is no big river spanning 20 to 25 miles. Besides, due to irrigation many water bodies are drying up causing a shortage of naturally bred fish.
The government should take up a countrywide scheme to make the habitats of naturally bred local varieties of fish safer and increase the extent of such habitats. Certain rivers and water bodies should be declared as fish sanctuaries. Fishing in those water bodies, particularly during the breeding period, should be totally banned. Awareness should also be created among the citizens to protect the local varieties of fish from extinction and turn to fish production.
