RAJSHAHI: Narrating various nutritional aspects of native fish species, experts and others concerned put emphasis on adoption of time-fitting measures to protect those especially the small indigenous ones from further depletion, reports BSS. They mentioned that the small fishes enriched with high nutrition which is capable of protecting the human beings particularly the growing aged ones from various diseases. They, however, said with wide-ranging promotion of exotic and hybrid fish species, the indigenous species, particularly the small ones, are gradually being endangered everywhere in the country's northwest region. Both farming and marketing of the high yielding species have been enhanced significantly during the last couple of years. The local wholesale markets, hats and bazars are now flooded with the promoted varieties of fish which are less tasty and nutritious than the local ones. Apart from this, all varieties of native fish are also on the decline in the region because of drastic fall in surface waters resources like rivers, canals, ponds, floodplains and water bodies. The sharp fall in production of local fish varieties is also widely blamed on the indiscriminate catching of the mother fish.
Poor production of the indigenous fish species has made them scarce on the markets and thrown a good number of local fishermen out of their ancestral job. Sources said unabated use of fine nets for fishing in the water bodies, poor depth in river waters and filling up of their water bodies by illegal encroachers are also among the reasons behind the fall in production of the local fish.
"Local fish are very scarce on the market at present. Even if they are found, very high prices are charged for them, which is beyond the purchasing capacity of the common consumers," said Jasim Uddin, a fish wholesaler at Saheb Bazar in Rajshahi city.
Dr Shaleha Jeshmin of Fisheries Department of Rajshahi University said very few numbers of the local fish species are now found in the rivers and water bodies and expressed her apprehension that the production would decrease further in future. She highlighted various positive aspects of the open water bodies in conserving the native fish species and said the open water bodies are important not only for their fish production but also for generating employment.
In addition to nutritional aspects, the open water fisheries had been contributing a lot to maintain natural ecosystem and wetland habitats along with an aquatic biodiversity, Dr Jeshmin added.
Due to extensive intervention, the habitat degradation is also affecting productivity of the water-bodies and the prevailing disturbances are detrimental to the native fish species and their population. Apart from this, over-fishing along with injudicious and destructive fishing practice resulting in the depletion of fishery resources. She, however, said awareness should be created among people not to catch local fish from the rivers and water bodies to boost their production and this is possible only through a joint public-private initiative.
She favoured for an immediate sound management for rational utilisation of the fisheries to protect the fish resources of the Padma River along with other water bodies and floodplains from continuous degradation. In this regard, she mentioned that there were huge small rivers, canals and marshes in the region which turned into green fields during dry season due to massive silt deposition. These water bodies could be an effective means of large scale fish farming side by side with protecting the endangered fish species if they could be transformed into water reservoirs through proper excavation or re-excavation.