Speakers at a seminar said Saturday that Bangladesh still could not exploit its marine resources within its maritime boundary in the Bay of Bengal (BoB) compared to other countries due to lack of survey and modern technology.
They also observed that the country was yet to drill or explore oil and gas in the 200-mile economic zone despite the landmark verdict at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) establishing legal territorial rights of Bangladesh to the Bay of Bengal.
They stressed the need for conducting a survey, proper management, expansion and exploration of marine resources in the Bay and formulating a policy based on the same to assess fish stock and determine total allowable catch (TAC).
They made the observations at the seminar on 'Protection and Preservation of Maritime Zones, Marine Resources of Bangladesh and Its Conservation' at CIRDAP auditorium in the city. Paribesh Bachao Andolon (PABA) organised the seminar.
Law commission chairman Justice ABM Khairul Haque was present as the chief guest while Secretary of the Maritime Affairs Unit of Foreign Ministry Rear Admiral (retd) Khurshed Alam was present as the special guest, among others. PABA chairperson Abu Naser Khan chaired the seminar.
The Bay of Bengal is the largest Bay in the world, triangular in shape, bounded by eight countries: Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, the Maldives, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand occupying a land area of 2.17 million sqkm.
Khurshed Alam said Bangladeshi fishermen using wooden boats numbering about 55,000 can go as far as 25 sqkm deep from the coast while a trawler can go another 20 sqkm. More or less Bangladeshi fishermen catch fish within 60 to 70 sqkm of the total 270-nautical mile maritime boundary that is undisputed.
He said more than six million tonnes of fishes are caught in the BoB and Bangladesh's share is only 0.29 million tonnes.
"We are saying that over exploitation of fisheries is taking place whereas we cannot exploit the immense resource in the deep sea. There is a place occupying 200 million sqkm beyond our maritime boundary called high sea where any ship can catch fish," said Mr Alam.
He said the private sector entrepreneurs in the area fishing were unwilling to go to deep sea.
Mr Alam said the total trade volume of Bangladesh through the sea is about US$ 60 billion (import and export). It takes place through 2600 ships and there are about 70 ships of Bangladesh and the country pays about US$ 6.0 billion as ship rent.
Besides, Bangladesh is still limited to dry fish and salt production, whereas there are many products which we sometimes import, can be produced from sea fish, said Mr Alam.
Referring to the 75 marine islands, he suggested development of habitat and agriculture with crop variety suitable for saline water and afforestation in the shallow water at coastal belt.
Mr Alam explained his position to continue the present shipbreaking work by making it more environment-friendly, as it is necessary for the economy. Bangladesh has the third largest shipbreaking industry in the world preceded by China and India.
The speakers emphasised on producing ship captains to meet the increasing international demand for ship operation, conduct fisheries survey and reduce plastic pollution in the sea water.
They noted that there are enough maritime laws for protection of boundary and resources but a capable protector is required. He, however, admitted that there was not enough arrangement for managing ship peril.
They expected that the dispute with India over maritime boundaries would also be settled in favour of Bangladesh next month as the international court sustained Bangladesh's claim to settle maritime boundary with Myanmar.
