Towards Sustainable Development of Coastal Fisheries Resources in Bangladesh: An Analysis of the Legal and Institutional Framework

The coastal fisheries resources area of Bangladesh is located between the inland and marine fisheries area, but there is no legislation that limits the boundary of coastal fisheries region. The aim of this paper is to examine the regulatory regimes that govern the coastal fisheries resources in the country, especially the policies, laws and institutional mechanisms. We identified that the existing fishing practice in the coastal waters is not an inconsistency with the present legal norms. The legal definition of Bangladesh fisheries water excludes the coastal area below at 18.29 m depth, and jurisdiction over shallow areas to regulate fishing activities is not clear. Conflict of the jurisdiction of authority has led to a confusion regarding the implementation of regulations on licensing and registration of vessels as well as the prescribed fishing practices and use of fishing gears. Besides that, institutional setup for sustainable use of coastal and fishery resources are existing, but the enforcement efforts by the different sectors are uncoordinated, competing and sometimes even adversarial. We conclude that, government must enact a comprehensive legal framework for the proper management and utilization of its resources for the purposes of the sustainable development of the country and well-being of its population.