The southwest coastal districts of Bangladesh are very important for the shrimp industry. Bagerhat, Satkhira, Khulna are the major contributors to the shrimp supply and it is about 75% of total production in the country.
The Bagerhat district and including its upazila are playing an important role in shrimp production and supply round the year. This year Bagerhat shrimp farmers have experienced severe damage due to the timing of rain and natural calamity.
Cyclone Bulbul and post COVID shrimp farmers are already suffering from previous losses and this year comes as a staggering burden on them. Lack of rain in the beginning of the season has caused high temperature and increased water salinity. Which leads to virus outbreaks and very poor production.
Remarkably, shrimp farming provides 80–90% of the livelihoods in Bangladesh’s southwest coastal regions. But as shown by government-published Fisheries Resource Survey System (FRSS) data, articles from other sources, the shrimp-farming region at Rampal, Bagerhat district, has altered significantly over the past 20 years, along with the shrimp production.
According to the FRSS data and current study, the Bagerhat district’s shrimp output and shrimp-farming area have been falling recently in comparison to Satkhira and Khulna districts. The fall in shrimp-farming area and productivity, according to local farmers, was caused by disease outbreaks at shrimp farms, poor shrimp prices and high cost of labor.
In addition to this, the fall in Bagerhat’s shrimp output and the farming area was also a result of long-term environmental effects such as elevated salinity and a loss of biodiversity.
For instance, the majority of the farmers in Chanditala village at Bagerhat’s Rampal upazila had lost their shrimp farm to the late-monsoon storms (cyclone sitrang) and tidal surges.
More than 8,000 shrimp farms are submerged in the southern district this year. Tidal surges have swept away shrimp, crabs and various fish species valued at over Tk 60 million (USD 0.6 million), putting many farmers out of business and left them in the hands of poverty.
Mr. Fakir Mahitul Islam, president of the Bagerhat Shrimp Farmers Association, claimed that climate change is having an impact on shrimp farming. To sustain its cultivation, he emphasized the importance of further research into the global market as well as offering incentives and loans to Bagda (Black Tiger Shrimp) farmers with lenient terms.
Persuasively, to lessen the losses of shrimp farmers of the district, the community demands an insurance program or financial support. So, they can combat climate change and pursue survival.
Shrimps are called the white gold of the country. If we want the “White gold” economy to keep going; government, NGO’s and all the stakeholders of the industry must come forward to keep the farmers on the safe side. If the farmers live, so does the industry.
Forhad Hossain
Dhaka, Bangladesh
