Hilsa farming will be in the Bay of Bengal!

The Dhaka Times Desk Hilsa farming will be in the Bay of Bengal! Artificial breeding of hilsa in cages and hilsa cultivation will be done jointly in the coastal coastline and marine waters. Using brackish water, marine species including carp, shrimp, tilapia will be farmed and artificially bred on the coast. In this regard, three Norwegian companies have offered to invest in Bangladesh on a partnership basis. Khabar online newspaper.

Ujjal Vikas Dutta, secretary of the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, said that Bangladesh can benefit immensely by cultivating various marine species including hilsa. Norway's proposal is under active consideration. After receiving their proposal, the details will be checked and the contract will be concluded. It is hoped that the activities will start within a year. The secretary said that the Ministry of Water Resources has been requested to carry out the dredging of the coastal rivers on an urgent basis. Border surveillance has been asked to be strengthened.

According to the sources of the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, apart from freshwater fish, coastal fish farming and marine species fish farming is not available on a commercial basis. Bangladesh's 710 km long coastline and 166 sq km marine waters have great potential for commercial farming of marine species. Norway has expressed a keen interest in this regard. Three private sector organizations have come forward as an initiative of the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD). The companies are Innovation Norway, Jenegar and Akava. They have proposed cage fish farming along the coastal coastline and marine waters of Bangladesh. It will also help in the development of seed production and cultivation of fish such as tuna, tilapia and carp.

The Norwegian Institute of Food (Nofima) wants to cooperate on artificial reproduction of marine fish including hilsa, cage fish farming in sea waters. Bangladesh will sign a memorandum of understanding with Norway in this regard. A Norwegian government delegation will come to Dhaka for detailed discussions. It will also have representation from interested private sector organizations. Norway will provide the necessary financial support for aquaculture of marine species in coastal areas using caged fish and brackish water.

The government has also sought financial and technical assistance from the United States in this regard. Officials of the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock met with high level officials of USAID. It highlights the government's plans, implementation strategies and potential cooperation areas of development partners for the development of the fisheries sector. They expressed their interest in supporting marine species fisheries on a commercial basis in the marine waters of Bangladesh. However, US aid is conditional on compliance with the FAO's Code of Responsible Fisheries (CCRF) and the Combating Illegal, Unregulated, Unreported Fishing Regulations issued under it. Emphasis is placed on establishment of Marine Fisheries Research Centre, Fresh Water Fisheries Resource Framework Survey and climate change impact survey on it. Both parties agree to take future action on these matters. However, at this stage, USAID has expressed its inability to finance marine fisheries. In this context, the government is going to start the implementation of the project with the cooperation of Norwegian government and private sector, which has a lot of experience in marine fish extraction. By doing this, our hilsa resources will be available again as before, as well as it will be possible to earn a lot of foreign exchange by exporting abroad.