An assessment of impacts from shrimp aquaculture in Bangladesh and prospects for improvement

Book excerpt: Total shrimp production in Bangladesh increased from 14 773 tonnes in 1986 to 128 313 ton in 2014. In parallel with contribution of the shrimp sector to the local and national economy of the country, it has caused some negative impacts on local ecosystems. This includes deterioration of soil and water quality, depletion of mangrove forest, decrease in population of local species of fish among others. There have also been some socio-economic consequences on the livelihood patterns of people livin g in coastal areas. At this stage, a paradigm shift is needed away from current shrimp farming practices to a more holistic and integrated approach that accounts for environmental integrity and social cohesion. In this paper, the ongoing measures to improve and streamline environmental performance of shrimp farming in Bangladesh are analyzed and a number of measures are proposed.