The fisheries sector needs a larger allocation, but waste must stop and spending must be transparent and accountable, Bangladesh's Fisheries and Livestock and Agriculture Minister Mohammad Amin Ur Rashid said on Tuesday, 6 October. He was speaking as chief guest at a Department of Fisheries workshop on the sector's budget and the government's development plans, held at Matsya Bhaban in Dhaka.
Native fish have become scarcer, the minister said, as natural water bodies shrink and the environment changes. Raising production must therefore go together with protecting the natural habitats of fish.
On fish sanctuaries, he said launching projects and spending money is not enough: how well a sanctuary actually works has to be checked in the field. Where the money went, what it achieved and how it affected fish output should be reviewed regularly.
Fake or ineligible names on fishermen lists deprive genuine fishers of government support, he said, asking officials to take local verification more seriously. Noting that several countries fish tuna commercially in international waters, he said Bangladesh could too, but it needs a clear plan to turn survey results into catches, along with skilled crews, suitable vessels and technical capacity.
State Minister for Fisheries and Livestock Sultan Salauddin Tuku, the special guest, said young entrepreneurs should be encouraged, fish farmers given advice and technical help, and field officers should visit farms regularly. He said projects are being taken up to raise freshwater fish output, expand exports and bring canals, beels and rivers into production, and stressed clean water bodies, navigable rivers, fish processing and exports.
Department of Fisheries Director General Dr Md. Khaled Konok presided; ministry secretary Md. Delowar Hossain and Public Service Commission member Professor A S M Golam Hafiz also attended. The report is by a Banglanews24 senior correspondent.
Photo: Frameofashik / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Source: Banglanews24
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