In the agrobased economy of Bangladesh, the fisheries sector makes a significant contribution to nutrition, employment and foreign exchange earning. The vast water resources, covering some 4.3 m ha of inland waters and 480 km coastline, a subtropical climate and suitable soil and water conditions offer a very high potential for fisheries and aquaculture development. In spite of this, fish production was very low and quite static till 1985. The few development programmes, implemented at that time did not produce the desired results due to lack of research support. As a result, production targets as set for the Second and Third Five-Year Plans could not be achieved.

On the other hand, establishment of the FRI in 1984 and subsequent generation of improved aquaculture and management practices have made a positive contribution to almost achieving the production target of 1.2 m tons in 1994-95, the final year of the Fourth Five Year Plan.

The review of the country's perspective plan which is now under preparation, identifies the poor socioeconomic conditions of the fishing and farming communities and the lack of integrated resource management research as lapses. Taking into consideration the aquaculture/fisheries potential and the constraints for development, priority research areas have been identified in freshwater, brackishwater and marine aquaculture, and in the management aspects of inland openwater and, marine fisheries. Aquaculture research has boosted this sector and shown an average annual growth of about 17 per cent in the last ten years, now contributing 25 per cent of the total fish production. Considering the enormous potential, research fields identified in freshwater aquaculture include:

- Integrated farming systems;

- Development of GIS and ecoregion specific culture practices;

- Fish feed development;

- Nutritional studies of commercially important fish;

- Development of breeding and culture practices for indigenous and endangered species;

- Pen and cage culture;

- Hatchery and culture system for Golda (giant freshwater prawn);

- Genetic improvement of cultured species; and