Fishing has been banned in 28 rivers and canals flowing through the Sunderbans of Bangladesh. This has been done to conserve the aquatic biodiversity and encourage the sustainable development of fisheries resources. The prohibition is a part of many other programmes adopted by the aquatic resource division of the on-going Sunderbans Biodiversity Conservation Project, which is funded by the Asian Development Bank. The project aims to protect endangered fish species, as they are very important for the ecological balance of the forest area.