Managing Fisheries for Food Security: Implications from Demand Analysis

We estimate elasticities of demand for fish, categorized by their origin (inland capture, marine capture, and aquaculture), for poor and non-poor households in Bangladesh and analyze implications for food security and fisheries management. Demand for fish from all sources and by all households increases with income. Elasticities of demand for aquacultured and inland-captured fish are higher for poor households than non-poor. Technological progress has driven reduction in the real price of farmed fish. Effective management of all fish sources is important for food security, but increasing supply from aquaculture and inland capture fisheries will have the most significant effects.