By M. Gulam Hussain
The Fish Innovation Lab is saddened to announce that Professor Dr. Mostafa Ali Reza Hossain of Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU), Mymensingh, passed away from a heart attack on January 29, 2023. Prof. Mostafa was 56 years old, a full-time professor in the Department of Fisheries Biology and Genetics at BAU, and a renowned fisheries scientist in Bangladesh and the Asia region. He was the Bangladesh Co-PI of the Fish Innovation Lab’s activity on Advancing Aquaculture Systems Productivity Through Carp Genetic Improvement with WorldFish.
Prof. Mostafa was born on March 16, 1967, in an aristocratic Muslim family in the Chapai Nawbganj district of Bangladesh. He obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in fisheries with honors from the Faculty of Fisheries, BAU. He received his Master of Science and PhD in 1995 and 1998, respectively, from the Institute of Aquaculture at Stirling University, Scotland, UK. In 2000, he completed a postdoctoral appointment at Kyoto University, Japan. Prof. Mostafa joined BAU as a lecturer in the Department of Aquaculture and Management in 1992, and he later became an assistant professor in BAU’s Department of Fisheries Biology and Genetics in 1995. He was promoted to associate professor in 2000 and to a full-time professor in 2005. He was a U.S. Fulbright Scholar and served as a professor at BAU until his death.
Prof. Mostafa conducted his lifelong research in the field of freshwater fish biodiversity and conservation, and he established the Fish Museum and Germplasm Center at the BAU campus, the first of its kind in Bangladesh. He published a total of 138 scientific articles in peer-reviewed international journals, 16 book chapters, and two textbooks. His enormous contribution to the field of aquaculture and fisheries are great assets for Bangladesh. His death is an irreparable loss for the nation. Prof. Mostafa is survived by his wife, a young son, and a young daughter. The Fish Innovation Lab and its research teams throughout Asia and Africa express their heartfelt condolences and sympathy to the members of the bereaved family.
Published February 1, 2023