Problems faced by the shrimp industry

Research studies indicate that the shrimp industry is one of the most important contributors to economic development of the country. Foreign exchange earnings from frozen shrimp exports in 2009-2010 were US$ 400 million. The main cultured species is the tiger shrimp or Penaeus (locally known as bagda shrimp). It is a marine shrimp and is cultivated in salty water. The next most important cultured species for export is the fresh water variety, locally called golda, scientifically known as Macrobrachium Rosenbergii.
The shrimp industry provides direct employment to over 600 thousand people who in turn support well over 3.5 million dependents. Shrimp export is the second largest export item of Bangladesh after RMG exports. Although it is the second largest export item of Bangladesh, quantitative data shows that Bangladesh shared only 2.5 per cent of the world shrimp market.
A significant area of the southern districts is under shrimp culture. There are 148 (88 are registered by the government) sea food processing plants in the country. Their total processing capacity is 300 thousand metric tons per year, but the plants are utilising only 14 to16 per cent of their total capacity.
Shrimp is produced mainly in greater Khulna, Chittagong and Cox's Bazar and most of the processing factories are located there. Bagerhat in greater Khulna produces more shrimps than any other district of the country. The district possesses about 40.5 thousand golda shrimp ghers (enclosures) containing an area of more than 19 thousand hectares. The number of bagda shrimp ghers is more that 41 thousand occupying an area of more than 51 thousand hectares. The demand for bagda and golda shrimp fries in these ghers numbers 770 million and 210 million respectively. The production of bagda and golda shrimps in this district in the year 2013 was about 27 thousand tonnes the value of which is about Tk1.5 billion.
Though 13 hatcheries were established in the last one and a half decades under government initiative in Bagerhat for flourishing of golda shrimp industry, the move was not practically successful. Most of these hatcheries are closed now for being unable to produce necessary fries. As a result, the shrimp cultivators of the district are to depend on the hatcheries of Cox's Bazar to meet their government-ascertained demand of golda shrimp fries of about 210 million.
At the beginning of the shrimp culture, the cultivators were dependent on the golda and bagda shrimp fries available from the rivers. They gradually started to depend on the fries of the hatcheries with the increase of cultivated areas, infections of various diseases including virus infections, etc. The demand of the locality was successfully met by the bagda shrimp fries that came from the hatcheries at Cox's Bazar together with the locally available fries. With the increase of cultivation  areas of golda shrimp and with the increased scarcity of natural fries the golda shrimp cultivators also became dependent on hatchery fries. Under these circumstances, initiatives began in 2000 to establish hatcheries in Bagerhat and bank loan facilities were increased in this sector resulting in the establishment of a good number of golda shrimp hatcheries in different parts of the district. But because of the scarcity of necessary saline water in the district it was not possible to establish bagda shrimp hatchery in Bagerhat.
Though there are a good number of signboards of hatcheries and factories producing fish foods visible on both sides of the Gopalganj-Bagherhat, Khulna-Bagherhat and Bagherhat-Piroijpur roads, most of them are lying closed for years after years. As per the estimate of Bagerhat district Fisheries Division, there are 13 golda shrimp hatcheries in the district. Some of these are BRAC golda shrimp hatchery, Khanjahan Ali golda hatchery, Bagerhat golda hatchery, Jalalabad (BRAC-2) Hitech golda hatchery, Index hatchery, Rupa agro fisheries, Rainbow hatchery, and J. K. hatchery.  As per government estimate of 2009, the production target of these hatcheries was 65.9 million golda shrimp fries. But in total 42.4 million golda shrimp fries were produced there at that time. The production target of these hatcheries in 2013 was 37.0 million golda shrimp fries but actual production was 5.3 million fries only. Some of the hatchery owners have claimed that fries production was good from 2004 to 2010 but for the last three years production is being hampered with reasons unknown to them. The shrimp fries produced in the year 2010 could not be sold at suitable price; production is closed for the last two years. Bank debt has increased.
It has been found through investigations that the condition of none of the hatcheries is satisfactory except the BRAC golda shrimp hatchery. The activities of the four hatcheries, including Jalalabad, Index and J. K., are closed for some years. It is also alleged that a number of establishments are selling fries secretly brought from outside in the name of their own products. Furthermore, it is also alleged that many entrepreneurs are investing elsewhere huge amount of money borrowed from the banks at nominal rate of interest against hatchery industries.
The reasons behind the stagnancy of the hatchery industry are said to be the inability of preventing infections of diseases, the inability of maintaining the continuity of necessary temperature of water in the hatcheries and as there are defects in the water purification systems the hatcheries cannot control the death rate of fries ultimately. As a result, the hatcheries are incurring losses.       
The stakeholders need institutional and industry-related education. Industry-wise training programmes, seminars and trade fairs should be held.  Problems, including high mortality rate of fries and lack of virus screening facilities, should be removed.      
The writer is a retired Professor                   of Economics, BCS General                   Education Cadre.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     [email protected]