Biodiversity and Management Status of Charia beel in Northern Bangladesh

Abstract

Purpose: The aim is to study the condition of aquatic species in the Charia beel. A good management technique is developed for protecting biodiversity and productions of the beel in order to ensure food security. Subjects and Methods: Primary data was developed by a semi-structured questionnaires and primary data was collected by field observation which comprised of selected area of the beel basin, survey of different fishing methods, conducted a series of Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), applying Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK) and Key Informant Interview (KII). Secondary data were collected from the Department of Fisheries (DoF), comprehensive literature review and internet sites. The code of IUCN was followed to categorize the status of the beel and to compare the trend among different years Shannon index was followed. Results: A total number of 91 species (83 wild fishes, four prawns, one crab, one snail, and four species of turtles) belonging to 65 genera were identified from the Charia beel. About 10 types of operative fishing gear and craft were found in the river. The increasing rate of using current jal (20.50-30.50%) and Kapuri jal (14.60-18.00%) were identified as detrimental gear used to kill the different species during four years. A common increasing trend of using current jaal, Kapuri jaal (seine net) and FAD (Fish aggregating device) were identified as detrimental gear killing different species between 2016 and 2019. The fish productivity decreased dramatically from 184.52± 55.04 to 141.65± 57.66 mt within four years and the total production percentage (%) also sharply decreased from 8.88% mt to 23.23% over the same period. Conclusion: Commercially important 06  aquatic species namely Sarpunti (Puntius sarana), Napit (Badis badis), Gajar (Channa marulius) and Turtles (Kachuga tecta,Morenia petersi and Lissemys punctata) were regional extinct, 18 commercially important aquatic species were at the edge of extinction (critically endangered, CR), 35 species endangered (EN),  23 species vulnerable status (VU), five species were identified as lower risk (LR) and only four species of the river were not threatened (NT) in position between 2016 and 2019 in the this beel.