In Bangladesh, the overall pond area is 1,46,890 ha and ox-bow lakes (baors) are 5,488 ha.

Bangladesh is considered one of the most suitable regions for fisheries in the world, with the world's largest flooded wetland and the third largest aquatic biodiversity in Asia after China and India.

Bangladeshi inland fisheries, primarily in the inland aquaculture sector play a great role to boost Bangladesh to 1st in world auaculcure production by 2020. This increase in the aquaculture production has been made possible with the implementation of scientific and technological modernization.



From 2000 and 2016, aquaculture production increased from 712,640 and 2,060,408 metric ton,a much larger quantity than wild capture production (1.023 million t) in 2016.

Name of Fish that grows and cultivates are as follows:

Rui (Labeo rohita), Catla (Catla catla), Mrigal (Cirrhinus cirrhosus), Kalibaus (Labeo calbasu), Bata (Labeo Bata), Ghonia (Labeo gonius),Silver Carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix), Grass Carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella), Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio), Other Exotic Carp, Pangas (Pangasius pangasius), Boal/Air (Wallago attu/Sperata aor/Sperata seenghala), Shol/Gazar/Taki (Channa striatus/C. marulius/C. punctatus), Koi (Anabas testudineus), Singi/Magur (Heteropneustes fossilis/Clarias batrachus), Big Prawn, Small Prawn,Tilapia/Nilotica (Oreochromis mossambicus/O. niloticus), Sarpunti (Puntius sarana) and other Fish.

Aquaculture is the farming of fish and other aquatic organisms, with ‘farming’ implying some form of intervention to increase productions, and some form of private rights of the stock under intervention.

Two types of aquaculture practices are going on in Bangladesh such as, freshwater and coastal aquaculture.

Freshwater aquaculture is mainly comprised of pond farming of carps (indigenous and exotic), Mekong pangasid catfish, tilapia, Mekong climbing perch, and a number of other domesticated fish, though in lesser scale. Coastal aquaculture is mainly comprised of shrimp and prawn farming in ghers (coastal pond or enclosures).

The inland aquaculture has generally experienced the fastest growth, with the establishment of new technologies, species, and intensification and improvement of farming, particularly in pond aquaculture, entirely over the country.

There has also been a recent increase in the value of fishery exports, with more than US $34.08 billion in 2010 rising to more than US $46.60 billion in 2015. However, fisheries production is well below production targets despite the large gains seen in the aquaculture sector.

Aquaculture now provides around half the fish for direct human consumption in Bangladesh and is set to grow further. Aquaculture industry contributes to the economy with increasing production capacity and high export opportunities.

Over the last 12 years, the average growth rate of fisheries is 5.4%, while aquaculture has grown 8.2%. This recent and rapid development has boosted Bangladesh to 3rd in world aquaculture production (DoF, 2018).