Fisheries are a major part of Bangladesh’s economy. Although the Bay of Bengal has an exclusive economic zone of 1.19 lakh square kilometers, furthermore Bangladesh harvests fish resources from four areas of only 24 thousand square kilometers at a depth of 100 meters.
As a result, tuna and similar pelagic fish have remained elusive at a depth of 200 meters.
The Department of Fisheries plans to start similar pelagic fishing including tuna in the Bay of Bengal’s exclusive economic zone and international waters from February next year.
Although the Bay of Bengal has an exclusive economic zone of 1.19 lakh square kilometers, Bangladesh extracts fish resources from four areas of only 24,000 square kilometers at a depth of 100 meters. As a result, tuna and similar pelagic fish have remained elusive at a depth of 200 meters.
As there is no survey in this marine area, this fish harvesting activity could not be started even though at least 19 companies were allowed to harvest tuna fish. To encourage domestic investors, the Department of Fisheries has taken the initiative of harvesting and surveying tuna fish through a project.
If this experimental project of tuna fish extraction is implemented, the investors will come forward to extract tuna and similar pelagic fish – this is expected by the Department of Fisheries.
In February next year, two vessels will be imported from China for Tk 24 crore, and the deep sea tuna fish extraction operation will begin.
Initially, the two ships are planned to start operational activities by February after completion of other formalities including recruitment and training of 30 crew.
Director General of Bangladesh Fisheries Department Khandkar Mahbubul Haque said, “There is a huge demand for tuna in different countries of the world. Canned tuna is imported to Bangladesh. If this project of tuna fish harvesting is successfully implemented, new doors will be opened in the marine fish harvesting sector and blue economy. Tuna in various European countries including Japan. There will be opportunities for fish exports.”
According to the information of the Department of Fisheries, first, a pilot project was taken from July 2020 to December 2023 to harvest tuna and similar pelagic fish in the deep sea. Although three ships were supposed to be purchased under this project of 61 crore 6 lakh rupees, now it has been decided to buy two ships due to various crises including the increase in the value of the dollar. At the same time, the duration of the project was extended by 18 months to June 2025. The cost was initially estimated at Tk 61 crore 6 lakh, but the cost of the project came down to Tk 55 crore 21 lakh due to the purchase of one less ship.
Zobaidul Alam, director of the Pilot Project for Deep Sea Tuna and Homogeneous Pelagic Fish Harvesting, told TBS, “Due to the dollar crisis, the Ministry of Finance has banned the purchase of ships and aircraft since July 2022. This ban is still ongoing. However, with the special approval of the government. Two vessels are being procured under this project.”
He said that the two ships are being bought from China’s Uni Marine Services Pvt.
According to the Department of Marine Fisheries, tuna fish harvesting in the Indian Ocean Basin is regulated under the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission. There are 30 countries under this commission. Bangladesh became a member of this commission on April 24, 2018. India, Maldives, Indonesia, Pakistan and other countries near Bangladesh regularly extract tuna fish in their own and international waters.
Assistant Director of Marine Fisheries Department and Focal Person of Indian Ocean Tuna Fish Commission of Bangladesh. Shaukat Kabir Cheidhuri said that a survey will be conducted at a depth of 200 meters of the country’s waters to extract tuna fish. Besides, tuna fish will be harvested in the international waters of the Indian Ocean through a pilot project
He also said, “The amount of Bangladesh’s share of tuna fish extraction with the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission has not been finalized yet. However, negotiations are underway. The commission is also encouraging Bangladesh to extract tuna fish.”
Experts say there are 8 species of tuna in the Bay of Bengal.
It should be noted that Bangladesh extracts fishery resources from three regions covering only 24,000 square kilometers. The annual catch is 6.5 lakh tonnes.
The research vessel ‘RV Meen Sandhyani’ brought from Malaysia is conducting search for marine resources in the Bay of Bengal. Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute has already learned about the breeding time of 25 species of fish, said the concerned authorities. However, the breeding time of other 476 species of fish and 39 species of shrimp in the bay has not yet been determined.
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