Seafood crisis looms as marine fish stocks plummet in Bay
Bangladesh is heading toward a severe seafood crisis as marine fish stocks in the Bay of Bengal continue to decline at an alarming pace due to illegal, unregulated and excessive harvesting, Fisheries and Livestock Adviser Farida Akhter warned on Sunday.
Speaking at a briefing in Dhaka on the Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries (EAF)-Nansen Survey 2025, she said early findings from the latest RV Dr Fridtjof Nansen expedition underscore an urgent need to overhaul the country’s marine fisheries management.
Stocks falling, ecosystem under stress
According to Farida, the survey shows a significant reduction in overall fish abundance, driven largely by overfishing and the proliferation of destructive fishing gear.
She said 72 of the country’s 273 industrial trawlers are equipped with advanced technology that is being misused, resulting in high levels of by-catch and extensive wastage – a practice she described as unsustainable and harmful to marine biodiversity.
Equally troubling, she noted, are the environmental red flags observed across the Bay: Expanding low-oxygen and oxygen-depleted zones, rising microplastic accumulation, and unusual jellyfish blooms.
“These are clear warning signs of an ecosystem under severe distress,” she said.
Govt plans tougher controls
The adviser called for strict limits on the issuance of industrial trawler licences and tighter regulation of all trawler-based fishing. She said the government will hold a high-level meeting with scientists, researchers and stakeholders once the final survey report arrives in mid-December.
“We will not receive the report and sit idle. Prompt, science-based measures are essential if we want to safeguard the Bay for future generations,” Farida stressed.
She also urged continued support from the Norwegian government and the FAO for future surveys in 2027–28, adding that Bangladesh urgently needs its own research vessel to sustain regular scientific assessments.
Scientific gains and alarming biodiversity trends
Fisheries and Livestock Secretary Abu Tahir Muhammad Zaber said Norway and the FAO had significantly boosted Bangladesh’s scientific capacity to conduct modern marine surveys, describing the 2018 Dr Fridtjof Nansen mission as a “milestone” – the first comprehensive ecosystem-based assessment after the resolution of the country’s maritime boundary.
The latest month-long survey (21 August 21-September 21, 2025) identified:
475 fish species
36 shrimp species
5 lobster species
15 crab species
5 turtle species
13 coral species
Scientists also discovered 65 new fish species, including five found exclusively in the Bay of Bengal.
However, marine experts cautioned that climate change, pollution and rapid environmental degradation are intensifying threats to marine life, urging immediate collective action to prevent irreversible losses.