\\\'Water resources conservation must to boost fish production\\\'

RAJSHAHI, July 16 (BSS): Speakers at a community discussion underscored the need for enhancing fish farming through the best use of existing natural resources as enhanced fish production can be the effective means to meet protein deficiency and poverty alleviation along employment generation.
Referring to the immense prospects of the fisheries sector they said fish production could easily be increased to a great extent through the best use of existing natural resources.
Conservation of the water resources and other wetlands has become indispensable for boosting fish production to meet up national protein demands.
They made these observations while releasing fish fingerlings in Beel Kumari under Tanore Upazila of the district yesterday. Rajshahi District Police and Community Policing Cell jointly organised the event in association with Bangladesh Police Service Association and Department of Fisheries with the main thrust of boosting fish production in open water bodies.
On the occasion, 300 kgs of native fish species like rui, katla and mrigel were released.
DIG of Police of Rajshahi Range Iqbal Bahar attended and addressed the ceremony as chief guest with SP of Rajshahi Nishaul Arif in the chair.  Additional SP (Administration) Abul Kalam Azad, Additional SP (Special Branch) Jahangir Hossain, Assistant SP (Headquarter Circle) Abdur Rashid, UNO Muniruzzaman Bhuiyan, Officer-in-Charge of Tanore Police Station Anwar Hossain and Upazila Fisheries Officer Shariful Islam also spoke.
The speakers put emphasis on formulation of tough laws against filling up of ponds and other natural water bodies as the aquatic biodiversity and fish production of the area have been decreasing gradually due to various manmade and natural causes.
Besides, they recommended for time-fitting policy to free the water resources from all sorts of pollution and contamination so that the indigenous fish species could be saved from extinction.