Community Based Fisheries Management in Bangladesh
List of Local Terms
arotdar: Large fish traders. Traditionally some have both supported and controlled fishers through a series of interlinked transactions, spanning fish purchase, credit for both production and consumption and access to leased areas.
baor: Ox-bow lake/cut-off channel of river
beel: Floodplain depression, often seasonally connected to the wider river system by khals. Deeper parts may remain flooded throughout the year, acting as a dry season refuge for fish.
borshi: Fishing gear - hook and line.
char: Sandbank or point bar in a river created by sedimentary deposition. Locations may shift with the current.
current jal: Cheap monofilament gill net; set in beels and floodplains but can be drifted in rivers. Illegal but widely used by poorer households.
darki: Fishing gear - bamboo traps
doair: Fishing gear - small, inexpensive bamboo traps.
hat: Market
jalmahal: Area of government owned land leased out for fishing.
jhaki jal: Fishing gear - Cast net used by individual fisherman.
katha: Fish aggregation device made of brushwood set in deeper water. Usually owned by richer households, with intermittent fishing usually contracted out to professional fishers.
khal: Low lying connecting channels linking rivers with their floodplains. A migration route for fish and often key fishing spots.
kua: Drain in pond on floodplain, where fish take refuge as floodwaters recede. May be purpose built or double as a source of irrigation water. Can be fished with nets or by dewatering.
samity: Co-operative society.
veshal: Large lift net set in bamboo frame. Widely used to intercept movement of fish on khals and secondary rivers. Operated by professional fishers