Socio-Economic Factors Responsible For Adoption of Alien Fish Species by Fish Farmers in Bangladesh

Adoption of alien fish species for aquaculture has become a common practice in Bangladesh. In this study, the socio-economic factors responsible for alien species adoption by fish farmers in Bogra District of Bangladesh were investigated. Data on adoption and socio-economic factors were collected from randomly selected 110 fish farmers. A multiple regression model was used to determine the factors influencing the adoption of alien fish species. The majority of the respondents (62.7%) belong to the moderate adoption category. The results showed that socio-economic factors such as commercialization, social participation, innovativeness, knowledge significantly affected fish farmers decision to adopt alien species. A stepwise regression analysis reveals that farmers knowledge on aquaculture is the deterministic factor regarding adoption. The trend of adopting alien fish species is not a concern limited to the study area, rather it reflects the general scenario of the aquaculture industry in Bangladesh. Therefore, socio-economic studies on alien fish species adoption could be helpful in forecasting future trends and formulating management strategies.