Engaging fishers and coastal communities through educational outreach exhibitions to promote shark and ray conservation in Bangladesh

Coastal Bangladesh is home to 40 million people, with roughly half relying on fisheries for their livelihoods. The artisanal fishers, contributing to over 80% of the annual marine catch, are vital for national food security. Their fishing grounds are habitats for over a hundred shark and ray species, of which more than two-thirds are threatened with extinction. Targeted fishing and bycatch, driven by high market demand, pose direct threats to these slow-growing animals. Over-exploitation is exacerbated by non-compliance with regulations, lack of conservation knowledge, and absence of safe release practices, leading to the mortality of protected species.

To address this, WCS Bangladesh initiated an interactive, mobile educational outreach program to foster marine conservation stewardship. This enabled connection among conservation professionals, fishers, and government officials.

Between 2021-25, WCS Bangladesh program organized eight “Ocean Guardian” and thirty-eight “Healthy Ocean-Healthy People” mobile exhibitions across fifteen key sites, engaging over 60,000 fishers, processors, traders, community members, and government officials. Results from 320 pre- and post-visit interviews indicated a significant positive shift, including over 40% increase in general knowledge, 68% improvement in identifying protected sharks and rays, and 30% better understanding of the threats they face. This collaborative effort successfully improved knowledge of national and international legislation.

While short-term assessment confirms a positive shift in knowledge and increased reporting of safe releases over the years, these efforts underscore the critical importance of theory-of-change-guided outreach to counter human-driven wildlife declines. This outreach model offers a scalable, cost-effective strategy for achieving conservation compliance in high-pressure coastal fisheries.