Fish biodiversity and socioeconomic aspects of Beel fishing communities in the North-West of Bangladesh

The study was carried out to evaluate the existing fish biodiversity and the socioeconomic state of fishermen in the Charai, Bara beel, and Damas beel regions of the northwestern section of Bangladesh. A field survey was conducted in around 15 locations in the Gomostapur Upazila of Chapainawabganj district. A total of 44 different species of fish have been identified, including 16 common, 17 endangered, and 11 extinct. Five types of fishing gear were available, including a fish net, a fish trap, a hook, Fish Aggregation Devices (FAD), and wounding gear/spears. Illegal and overfishing with illegal fishing gear were identified as important issues in the research areas. Fishermen employed two types of boats: Chandni boats and Dinghi boats. Only 53.3% of the fisherman utilized their own boat, while the rest had no fishing vessels, which was a concerning issue in these areas. Though fishermen employed a variety of marketing strategies, the two-step marketing channel was adopted by half of them. Among the various types of issues confronting the fishermen, the most common was the injustice perpetrated by the local extortionist. The majority of the fishermen had medium fishing experience and a primary level of schooling. Most fishermen earned between 71,000 and 1,00000 taka per year.