Hilsa shad (Tenualosa ilisha) is the national fish of Bangladesh. It is the most popular fish within the countries of the Bay of Bengal region due to its taste, flavor and look. Moreover, it contains essential micronutrients and omega-3 fatty acids. During 2002-03, the hilsa production went down to below 0.2 million tons that led the Gov. to formulate the Hilsa Fishery Management Action Plan (HFMAP). Since the implementation of HFMAP, hilsa production showed an increasing trend @5%/year till 2015. To improve its annual incremental production further, Department of Fisheries and WorldFish jointly started implementation of “Enhanced Coastal Fisheries in Bangladesh (ECOFISH-Bangladesh)”, a USAID funded five-year initiative (2014-2019). The overall objective of the project is- “Improved resilience of the Meghna River ecosystem and communities reliant on coastal fisheries”. Recently, over a million of Rohingya refugee influx from Myanmar to Cox’s Bazar region, especially in Teknaf and Ukhiya areas, the Zone of Resilience (ZOR), that has created enormous impacts on all natural resources including fisheries biodiversity. This has led to the sufferings of a vast number of the Naf River and coastal host fishing communities. USAID’s ECOFISH has started a broad-based assessment of the ecology and biodiversity of coastal and marine waters to enhance conservation as well as livelihood improvement of the affected host fishing communities through better utilization of aquatic resources in the ZOR, Cox’s Bazar. Background ECOFISH-Bangladesh Enhanced Coastal Fisheries in Bangladesh Project Focus Areas • Science-based co-management in hilsa sanctuaries & ZOR, Cox’s Bazar • Improved resilience of the Meghna & the Naf River ecosystems • Improved resilience of the coastal fishing households • Improved women savings, access to resources and technologies The project supports the Department of Fisheries (DOF) and local communities to establish a collaborative science-based “co-management” that focuses on the reduction of overfishing, protection of juveniles, protection of brood in the peak spawning season through involving all stakeholders. The community supports have been ensured through organizing the community groups and promoting community empowerment focusing on women and their livelihood diversification for improved resilience to endure compliance during fishing ban periods. Special attentions would be directed to the affected host fishing communities in the Zone of Resilience (ZOR) along the Naf River and Cox’s Bazar-Teknaf coastline. Approach Theater of Operation (ToO) 152 Villages 36 Upazila 12 Districts Project Name Enhanced Coastal Fisheries in Bangladesh (ECOFISH-Bangladesh) Donor USAID CGIAR Research Program FISH-CRP Project Duration June 2014-December 2019 Zones of Intervention Zone 1: Zone of Resilience (ZOR), Cox’s Bazar, focusing on Ukhiya & Teknaf Zone 2: Meghna River Ecosystem (MRE) in Barisal, Bhola, Barguna, Jhalokathi, Pirojpur, Patuakhali, Laxmipur, Noakhali, Chandpur & Shariatpur districts Partners BFRI, BAU, CU, CRC/URI USA, RU, PSTU, NSTU, CVASU, VFAP, CODEC, CNRS, COAST Trust, Shushilan, IUCN, WCS, iiED & UPM Photo Credit: Mahabubur Rahman