Fishing resumes in Bay

Fishermen in Khulna and other coastal districts are ready to  begin fishing after the 65-day fishing  ban in the Bay of Bengal ended yesterday. The Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock imposed the ban from May 20.

During a visit to the area, fishermen were seen readying nets, boats and trawlers to go fishing at night.  Fish traders Md Abed Ali and Jalal Uddin said the ban had taken a  toll on the fishermen. Mahbub Hossain of Dacope upazila, a leader of  the fishermen community, said half of the season was already gone and they fear  that they will not be able to catch the expected amount of fish. “The fishermen and businesses might have to face financial loss as  there’s no alternative employment opportunity for us here,” he added.

Ranjit Kumar Pal, deputy director of Khulna divisional fisheries,  said the government imposed the ban to increase production. “Fishermen  will be able to catch more fish now,” he added.  The ministry of fisheries and livestock has been surveying the Bay to  get estimates about the fish stock and identify fishing zones. Research  vessel RV Meen Sandhani has been collecting biological data of marine  creatures.  Bangladesh produced 42.77 lakh tonnes of fish in 2017-18 and 15.31 percent of it came from marine sources.

The government has set utmost priority for the protection,  conservation and biodiversity of marine and coastal resources. The St  Martin’s Island and the Sundarbans have been declared as sanctuaries to  develop and protect the fisheries resources as well as biodiversity of  those areas.

Bangladesh has also declared a marine reserve (covering 698 sq km)  and one marine protected area (covering 1738 sq km) in the Bay to  protect and preserve the breeding grounds of marine flora and fauna.

According to FAO report “The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture  2018”, Bangladesh ranked third in inland open water capture production and fifth in world aquaculture production.