National Fisheries Week begins today

Desk Report: National Fisheries Week is being observed from today (July 18) like each year across the country.

The theme of the week has been ascertained "the country would be built through fish cultivation, fish cultivation would change Bangladesh" (Mach Chashey Gorbo Desh, Bodley Devo Bangladesh).

The Department of Fisheries (DoF) under the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock (MoFL) has taken various programmes to mark the week.

President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina gave messages on the eve of the week.

In a message, President Abdul Hamid said "there is no alternative to aquaculture, fisheries catching and fisheries nursing under modern and planned way to ensure proper conservation and hygienic fisheries supply management."

Contribution and importance of the fisheries sector is enormous in the national economy, said the president in his message, adding  that even the fisheries resources are playing important role in achieving foreign currency including poverty alleviation, employment and fulfilling people's protein demand for protecting their health.

Referring to the establishment of right on vast sea area, Abdul Hamid said the initiative has opened door for enormous possibilities of sea resource. So we have to exploit the potentials of 'blue economy' for targeting development of the sea resources including the fisheries, the president added.

In a separate message, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said the fisheries sector is one of the most preferred sectors of the government and that's why the Awami League government has been implemented planned development programmes in the last eight and half years in this sector for fulfilling the nutrition demand of large number of people of the country.

Highlighting that Bangladesh has secured fourth position in aquaculture, the Prime Minister said "we have taken various programmes including balanced management of the natural water bodies, conservation of aquatic bio-diversity, environment friendly and developed technology-based fish farming management, adding that resulting in the fisheries production of the country has surged to 38.78 lakh tonnes in fiscal year 2015-16."

In addition to this, the country has enormous opportunities to earn the foreign currency through exporting crab and 'kutchia' alongwith fisheries and shrimp farming, the PM added.

Source: BSS

risingbd/Dhaka/July 18, 2017/A K Azad