Extreme Climate Events and Fish Production in Bangladesh

Natural hazards frequently batter Bangladesh and cause damages to fisheries sector of the country. The main objective of the present investigation was to evaluate the effects of storm/tidal surge, waterlogging, cyclone, flood, drought and erosion on spatial distribution of damages and economic loss in fisheries of Bangladesh. Data were collected from existing literatures followed by scoring and attribute-wise maps were prepared using IDRISI3.2. The highest economic loss (US$ 17.65 million) in fishery sector was observed in Southern part and the least in hilly regions. The damages caused by natural hazards followed the order of storm/tidal surge > waterlogging > cyclone > flood > drought > erosion. About 21% areas of South and South-east Bangladesh were affected by high to very high storm/tidal surge. Very severe waterlogging problems were observed in 6.96% areas of the country. Moderate to high damages because of cyclone were found in about 11% areas in South and South-east Bangladesh. Moderate to high flooding problems were mostly prevalent in Central and North-east part of the country covering 15-19 per cent areas. Drought and erosion are less damaging to fishery sector compared to other studied natural hazards. Although exposure index to natural hazards is high, relative index to national economy because of damages to fisheries sector are low. Adaptive measures in coastal areas as a long-term strategy would be participatory construction of hard structures and reclamation/conservation of wetlands throughout the country including improved warning system could be undertaken for minimizing damages in fisheries sector of Bangladesh.