Among all the boats, tosha nauka and kosha nauka are used widely by the fishermen all over the country except Chittagong and Chittagong Hill Tracts where fishermen are found to operate bara and choto nauka for fishing.
Chandi, tosha and kosha nauka are usually operated by the fishermen by rowing, sailing, or both. But presently a good number of these boats are being operated with 6 & 12 hp in-board engine mainly in big rivers and estuaries. The mechanized boats were found to be used in increasing numbers towards the lower reaches of the rivers and in estuaries. Other boats, except trawler boat, are operated by rowing, or sailing or by pushing with bamboo pole. The number of fishermen per boat depends mainly on the type of gear used for fishing.
Chandi nauka is mainly used for operating gulti, kona, chandi, gora and ber jals to catch mainly hilsa fish from Meghna and other big rivers. Balam nauka is found to be used for operating mainly behundi jal, gill net and seine net, whereas bachari nauka is used by the fishermen for operating mainly kona and veshal jal. Tosha nauka is used for operating almost all types of fishing gears except gulti and kona jals, but kosha nauka has been found to operate current, moi, sangla, jhaki, uttar, goria, puti, khara jals, rod and line etc. Panshi nauka is used for operating dool-chot, ghana ber jal, dal and other ber jal mainly in old Sylhet and Mymensingh districts.
Fishermen use bara nauka to operate mainly dak, katla, kechki, jhap, tengra, mal jals etc., whereas choto nauka is used to operate current, veshal, katla, kechki, jhaki jal, hook and line and jag fishing. Donga and raft are found to be used for operating jhaki jal and drag net and hook and line. The durability of the crafts depends on the types of the tree planks used for making the boat. Due to paucity of fund most of the fishermen were found to buy old boats instead of buying new ones for fishing which hampers their fishing efficiency, and also increases the cost of operation because of frequent repairs.
However, there is absence of any approved specific design for constructing the fishing boat in the country. The fishing crafts are constructed traditionally by the rural carpenters according to their individual plan and design. As such there is a great variations in the size and shape of the fishing crafts from region to region of the country. Some boats are found to be constructed by inferior quality of wood. In most cases, woods are not seasoned properly which reduces the durability of the boats.
