Status and economics of fish markets in Rajshahi City Corporation of Rajshahi,Bangladesh

Objective:To understand the existing fish distribution and marketing systems,assess marketing costs and margins and identify constraints of fish marketing systems.Methods:Data were collected from three different markets by fishermen,commission agents,wholesalers,retailers,day laborers etc.through questionnaire interviews and participatory approach during June to September,2013.Results:Four types of marketing channel were identified from farmers to consumers in all the three fish markets through a number of intermediaries.The daily supply of total fish in Binodpur Market,Talaimari Market and Shaheb Market was estimated 0.8-1 ton,0.2-0.3 ton and 8-8.1 ton,respectively.Virtually,most of the fish(75%)is imported from outside;the local supply amount is only 25%.The total marketing cost of wholesalers and retailers of the three markets were$8.58 and$6.47 per day,respectively.The average marketing margin of the wholesalers and retailers of the three markets were$0.18 and$0.25 per kg respectively.Income of fisherman,wholesaler,retailer and day laborer was estimated at$350,$9.75,$6.48,and$1.69,respectively.Conclusions:Traders have broadly improved their food consumption,standards of living,purchasing power,choice and ability as an economic sector.

Water productivity for living aquatic resources in floodplains of Northwestern Bangladesh

Objective:To measure the productivity of water on the floodplain land in terms of fisheries and living aquatic resources based on two floodplain beels in Bangladesh.Methods:Among two beels,beel Mail is practicing community based fish culture management,and beel Chandpur is open access and improperly managed.The production and market price data of fish,snail,and aquatic plants were collected by direct observation based on 30 samples fishers in the year 2006-2007.This study also collected production related water quality data,such as water temperature,pH and dissolved oxygen.Results:The water quality data are found within the normal range.Net aggregated water productivity values based on production costs were TK 8016.23 ha^(-1)and TK 3912.9 ha^(-1)and based on all cost TK 7160.97 ha^(-1)and TK 3741.13 ha^(-1)at beel Mail and beel Chandpur,respectively.The contribution of fish,snails and aquatic resources were 96.50%,3.10%,and 0.40%of the gross aggregated water produced in beel Mail and 87.85%,8.38%,and 3.77%in the beel Chandpur.The water productivity values in beel Mail are higher than in beel Chandpur due to the intervention of community based fish culture.Conclusions:The proper management and techniques of harvesting fish through appropriate number of fish fingerlings stocked,good quality of fish fingerlings,size of beel,good fencing and well defined embankment,etc.can help to improve the productivity of water in the beel areas.