Huge fish resources in Bay untapped

Saint Martin, a coral island in the Bay of Bengal, is enriched with a huge stock of duckweeds like Hypnea sp., Caulerpa, and Mollusc like Green Mussel (Perna Viridis) Crassostrea Sp. and Meretrix meretrix. PHOTO: Zobaer Hossain Sikder

The vast ground of marine resources, which provides around 92 per cent of the annual export of fishes, are yet to be properly surveyed, managed and explored, sources said.

No remarkable survey could be done on the 1.40 lakh square km area identified as the "Exclusive Economic Zone" in the Bay of Bengal since the liberation, they said.

As such the fishing area could not be expanded there and remained confined to only four specific "fishing grounds", said the experts. "It also created scope for illegal fishing in the Bay of Bengal by the outsiders," they added.

They said a separate and independent department is needed to protect the marine fisheries.

There are about 511 species of fishes, including 36 species of shrimps in the marine fishing ground in Bangladesh territory against some 260 species of mild water fishes, sources said.

Of them, at best 30 species of fishes are collected, which comprises around 25 per cent of the possible stock of fishes in the Bay, they said.

Lack of management hampered proper exploration of the marine resources while unchecked fishing and rampant collection of fish fries caused a decrease in productivity of marine fisheries alarmingly, they added.

At present some 121 trawlers, 42 for shrimps and 79 for other fishes, and 21,400 fishing boats have been engaged in commercial collection of fishes in the Bay.

Many of the fishing boats have no license and are fishing on the continental shelf, even during the spawning season, said the sources.

But nothing could be done to check this menace or develop the marine fisheries, they said blaming institutional weakness and absence of required policy in this regard.

Moreover, there were 170 types of duckweed, lichen and algae, which are consumed as food in the Bay of Bengal under the country's territory. Cultivation and export of Hypnea sp., Caulerpa, Mollusc like Green Mussel (Perna Viridis) Crassostrea sp. and Mretrix meretrix could enrich the country's economy immensely, they said.

But, there is no measure for developing, managing or collecting these seafoods, they added.

They said over 1,000 tons of Hypnea sp. collected from Saint Martin Island in Cox's Bazar are being exported to the neighbouring countries.

Apart from this, there is also a huge stock of oyster, cockle and bivalve mollusc, which remained almost unnoticed, said the researchers and the experts.

Chittagong University Institute of Marine Science Director Prof Mohammad Zafar said future of the potential marine fisheries is bleak unless a separate department can be set up.

"Fisheries is the principal staff of the marine resources we have in a huge water territory, which is even larger than the land area of the country," he said.

"But unfortunately marine fisheries is yet to be evaluated," he added.

"An initiative was taken to establish marine fisheries department last year and a project profile was also prepared. But, the move could not proceed much due to a narrow regional sentiment by a section of high-ups in the government," Prof Zafar said.

Meanwhile, time for preparing an organogram for separate marine fisheries was extended for further two months, he said. But uncertainty remains as the person, entrusted with the task, would retire by then.

The expert and researchers at a workshop organised by the Department of Marine Fisheries here recently called for setting up a separate department of marine fisheries.

Fisheries and Livestock Minister Abdullah Al Noman in his speech as the chief guest also underscored the need for such a department for proper management and exploration of marine resources that could create a huge employment opportunity and enrich the economy further.