DHAKA, July 21, 2019 (BSS) – Researchers have identified a 23 square-kilometers breeding ground of bhetki fish in the Bay of Bengal along the Cox’s Bazar coast.
The information was revealed at a seminar titled ‘Sustainable Management of Marine Fisheries Resources’, arranged by Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute (BFRI), at Krishibid Institution Bangladesh (KIB) in the capital today.
Chaired by BFRI Director General Dr Yahia Mahmud, the seminar was addressed, among others, by State Minister for Fisheries and Livestock Ashraf Ali Khan Khasru, Secretary of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Sajjadul Hassan, Fisheries and Livestock Secretary Md Raisul Alam Mondal and Director General of Fisheries Department Abu Sayed Md Rashedul Haque.
The researchers said if the broodfish of bhetki could be cultivated on cages set up in the sea, a new horizon of producing bhetki fish fries will be opened.
They said although Bangladesh has achieved a marked success in inland fish cultivation, it did not give attention to harnessing the potential of marine fisheries and resources. Apart from the inland fish cultivation, they said, emphasis should be given on proper management of marine resources.
The researchers revealed that annual fish production of the country is now 42.77 lakh metric tonnes while only 2.84 metric tonnes of shrimp and crab are produced in the coastal Sundarbans area.
The marine fish production is only 6.55 metric tonnes, which is 15.31 percent of the country’s total fish production, they said, adding now it is time to increase marine fish production and cultivate seawoods.