Harvesting Giant Freshwater Prawn, Golda (Macrobrachium rosenbergii de Man 1879) in the Sundarnbans mangrove forest plays an important role in the economy of the country as well as the livelihood of local community. The study focused the economic assessment of small-scale artisanal Golda fishery. Overall the Hookline gear showed the best performance in terms of economic return. However, it was found to withstand a shock from 20% decrease in market prices or 30% fall in catch rate in terms of Return on investment, payback period and Benefit-cost ratio. Operating cost and fixed cost for Hookline fishery was the lowest and Khathijal was the highest. No significant variation (P<0.05) observed in the mean catch rate per trip boat-1 among the gears studied. Total revenue earned after completion a trip varied considerably between BDT 1,307 to 1,562. Yearly, total net revenue reached at the maximum by Hookline (BDT 38,506), followed by Chandijal (BDT 38,377) and the minimum by Khalpata (BDT 33,885). The findings of this study are supposed to be helpful for policy makers in improving the current status of Golda fishery and relevant human livelihood as well as conserving the Sundarbans Mangrove Ecosystem.

The study was based on a survey report to know the present status of fish fry production and trade at Chachra in Jessore district by 20 hatchery owners, 45 nursery operators and 50 fry traders. The study was made on the total production of fry, number of people involved in the business, technical knowledge of the nursery operators, marketing channel, area of distribution of fry, means of transportation and facilities available. It was reported that 79,420 kg hatchlings were produced from 38 hatcheries and 948,394 kg fingerlings were produced from 180 nurseries at Jessore sadar in the year 2008. The fingerlings produced from this region were distributed to different parts of the country. Everyday more than 200 fry traders came to Chachra and carried the fry by means of van, pick-up van, bus, truck, train etc. Commission agents played an important role in this trade. It was observed that due to poor technical knowledge and improper transportation, fry mortality was high. Besides, insufficient credit support and unexpected disease infection were found to be the major problems in this business.

The Sundarnbans mangrove forest has been an immense source of aquatic resources from time immemorial. Among the resources, harvesting of Giant Freshwater Prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii de Man 1879) plays an important role in the economy of the country, therefore, this investigation was carried out to assess the Gear Efficiency for Harvesting Artisanal Giant Freshwater Prawn Fisheries from the Sundarbans Mangrove Ecosystem in Bangladesh. Four types of non-mechanized crafts made of fourteen types of wood were found in harvesting Giant Freshwater Prawn. Crafts were varied from 6.25±0.35 to 8.2±0.71 m in length, 1.1±0.14 to 1.75±0.36 m in breadth and 0.65±1.07 to 1.55±3.16 m in depth with a carrying capacity of 0.40 - 1.00 MT with an economic life of 10±2.11 years. A total of eight types of gears, namely, Hookline, Behundijal, Badhajal, Charpata, Chandijal, Gillnet, Kathijal and KhalPata were found in Giant Freshwater Prawn fishing. Among them the Hookline was the only main primary active Giant Freshwater Prawn fishing gear while the rest of the seven gears were multi-species gears which harvest Giant Freshwater Prawn as a by-catch. Only 13.6% of 1,989 fishers were found to use Hookline; the rest, 86.4% of fishers used the seven other gears. They only harvest 3.24% Giant Freshwater Prawn as a bycatch. The highest daily harvest volume per boat (kg day-1 boat-1) was 1.00±0.96 for the Kathijal followed by 0.99±0.27 for the Badhajal and 0.99±0.42 for the Hookline. The highest annual catch per boat (kg boat-1 yr-1) which was 172.80±0.29 was recorded for the Hookline followed by 172.24±0.54 for the Chandijal and the lowest (152.08±0.21) for the Khalpata. Total annual catch by all the eight gears surveyed was estimated at 1318.60±0.37 kg from 1,428 unit gears, 545 individual boats and 1,989 individual fishers. Based on the above scenario, Hookline showed the best performance among the 8 gears used for Giant Freshwater Prawn harvesting in the Sundarbans by the small-scale artisanal fishery. It is believed that the findings and the recommendations of this study will be helpful to policy makers in improving the current status of Giant Freshwater Prawn fishery and relevant livelihood as well as conserving the SME ecosystem

The study was conducted through 24 individual surveys in the SME of Bangladesh covering 16 river/canals and 32 locations (one-third area) of the Sundarbans by direct interviews of randomly selected 1,989 fishermen from 545 non-mechanized boats and 1,428 active gears from eight types of gear. The source of credit, agreement of Dadan, variability in prices, profit distribution agreement between boat/gear owner and the fishing labour, catch volume, and the relation between the fisher and the landing centers (i.e., intimacy and expected market prices) were found to be determinant factors in determining the place for landings of the harvested catches in the study area. There was access of fishers to the formal credit markets (i.e. scheduled banks or cooperatives) at 13±2.83 (11-15) % interest. However, the rate of interest offered by the NGOs was significantly higher (mean: 45±31, range: 18-76%) than the bank rates. A number of formalities were found to inhibit fishers to receive credit from Banks and NGOs. About 60-100% of the value of Galda catch, after covering the operational costs, was taken by the boat and gear owner. The share of the labor also varied by the type of work performed (catching, drying, transporting, cooking on boat etc.). The average prices of Galda at landing centers are varied from BDT 290 to 750 kg -1 . The average prices of Galda at landing centers and in international markets were BDT 290 and 750 kg -1 , respectively in 2006. The Department of Forest, being the legal authority in the management of aquatic resources inside the waters of the SME of Bangladesh should care the sustainable management of small-scale fisheries to ensure a sustainable growth rate of Galda, and protect over exploitation. Proper and easy financial and credit supports is needed for the economic betterment of the small fishers. Hence the findings and the recommendations of this study is supposed to be helpful for policy makers in improving the current status of Galda fishery and relevant human livelihood as well as conserving the Sundarbans Mangrove Ecosystem ecosystem.

Harvesting Giant Freshwater Prawn, Golda (Macrobrachium rosenbergii de Man 1879) in the Sundarnbans mangrove forest plays an important role in the economy of the country as well as the livelihood of local community. The study focused the economic assessment of small-scale artisanal Golda fishery. Overall the Hookline gear showed the best performance in terms of economic return. However, it was found to withstand a shock from 20% decrease in market prices or 30% fall in catch rate in terms of Return on investment, payback period and Benefit-cost ratio. Operating cost and fixed cost for Hookline fishery was the lowest and Khathijal was the highest. No significant variation (P&lt;0.05) observed in the mean catch rate per trip boat-1 among the gears studied. Total revenue earned after completion a trip varied considerably between BDT 1,307 to 1,562. Yearly, total net revenue reached at the maximum by Hookline (BDT 38,506), followed by Chandijal (BDT 38,377) and the minimum by Khalpata (BDT 33,885). The findings of this study are supposed to be helpful for policy makers in improving the current status of Golda fishery and relevant human livelihood as well as conserving the Sundarbans Mangrove Ecosystem.