Crop land to be kept out of shrimp farming, says fisheries minister

KHULNA, Mar 04 (BSS): Fisheries and Livestock Minister Narayan Chandra Chanda has said agricultural land should to be kept out of shrimp farming and it (shrimp) should be cultivated zone wise.

"The crop land should be kept free from shrimp farming ...it should be cultivated zone wise and the fellow land should be preferred for the shrimp culture," said the minister as the chief guest while addressing a reception and view exchange meeting held at Shrimp Tower auditorium here last night.

Even the shrimp can be cultivated on different chars, said the minister at the function organised by Bangladesh Frozen Foods Exporters Association (BFFEA).

He said the production of all fishes including the shrimp have already been increased significantly in the country compared to the past as the government is implementing lot of programmes for the development of the fisheries sector.

Referring the hilsha production, the minister said the country witnessed nearly 0.6 million tonnes of hilsha this year which is nearly 0.2 million tons more compared to the last year.

Chaired by Bangladesh Frozen Foods Exporters Association (BFFEA)'s Khulna chapter vice-president Sheikh Abdul Baki, the meeting was also attended by Police

Commissioner M Humayun Kabir, Deputy Commissioner M Amin Ul Ahsan and Fisheries

Inspection and Quality control Deputy Director Profullah Kumar Sarker.