Chemical and Pesticides uses Status in the Chalan beel, Bangladesh and Present Status of Fish Biodiversity

Aims: A study was conducted to investigate the status of agrochemicals used and its impact on aquatic biodiversity in the Chalan beel, the largest beel of Bangladesh.

Duration of Study: A period of six months from January to June 2009.

Methodology: The study was based on questionnaire survey. A semi structured and structured questionnaires were developed, pretested and adapted prior to the survey proper.

Results: The abundance of several fish species showed decreasing trend from 1982 to 2009. The average total annual fish production of the beel was 12017.57 MT having average fish production of 281.86 kg ha-1 during the study period. Crop farmers applied 2.76 kg pesticide ha-1 crop-1 and average annual chemical fertilizers practiced was more than 125000 MT. A total of 108 and 143 large to minor scale fish mass mortality incidences were recorded with estimated fish damage of 2117 and 2980 kg respectively during the study period.

Conclusion: It is the obligation of concerned GOs, NGOs and the people of Bangladesh to control the gear efficiency in the Chalan beel, stop the illegal usage of harmful pesticides and provide alternative livelihood options to the resource-poor fishers of the beel along with other measures for sustainability of the Chalan beel - a major fish reservoir of the country.