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The study was conducted to identify the present status of fish biodiversity in the wetlands of Sylhet district for a period of 12 months from January 2014 to December 2014. It was done by questionnaire interviews (QI) of fishers, focus group discussions (FGD), and key informant interviews (KII) and secondary data collection. During the study period, a total of 58 fish species under 21 families were recorded. The species availability status was remarked in four categories and obtained as 24 commonly available, 16 moderately available, 18 rarely available species. Highest number of commonly available species was found in October to December and lowest number of commonly available species was observed in March to April. Among 54 threatened fish species listed by IUCN Bangladesh, about 30 species were found 10-15 years ago in those wetlands but only 23 were found during the study period. It is revealed that there has been gradual reduction of fish diversity in the wetlands of the area of Sylhet district and average fish catch per fisherman per day was also reduced. Community based fisheries management, fishing gears maintenance, sanctuary establishment and management, implementation of fish acts and regulations, stocking of fish fingerling in the open waters, dredging of beels and raising public awareness can play a great role in conserving fish biodiversity.

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The study was aimed to investigate the current status and threats of fisheries resources in the Kura River, Bangladesh. Monthly fish catch surveys were carried out from December 2015 to November 2016 in four catchment areas at Hasinarghat, Kandir-dor, Pulertol, and Barartok. In addition, questionnaire interviews and focus group discussions (FGD) were done to clarify perceptions about the Kura River fishery status. A total of 59 fish species from 22 families were documented and of which 27% were threatened. The values of diversity (H), richness (D), and evenness (J’) were calculated at 3.599, 4.345, and 0.921 respectively. The highest catch volume was recorded 19800±7722.71 kg in November 2016 at the Kandirdor and the lowest 225±110.65 kg in March 2016 at the Barartok (p<0.05). The upstream blockage (man-made dam) in the Kura River was identified as the main cause of fish habitat change, decrease fish biodiversity, and production of this River. Therefore, the findings of this study exposed that the conservation of fish has become urgent. In this regard, the baseline scenario of the Kura River biodiversity and threats will help to make awareness to take necessary conservation strategy as well as the need for further in-depth study.