Thrust on diversification of coastal aquaculture

State Minister for Commerce Ahasanul Islam Titu has called for diversification of coastal aquaculture in order to bridge the gap between demand and supply for fishery products in the domestic market.

He also highlighted the need for diversification of the export basket of fishery products.

The State Minister made the call at a dissemination workshop on the outcome of a pilot project titled 'Introduction of Modern Commercial Feed-Based Seabass Farming Practices in Bangladesh' held at the CIRDAP auditorium in the city recently, says a press release.

The workshop was jointly organised by the Business Promotion Council (BPC), Ministry of Commerce, and the Bangladesh Shrimp and Fish Foundation (BSFF), in collaboration with the Department of Fisheries (DoF), Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock (MoFL).

In his opening remarks, BSSF Chairman Syed Mahmudul Huq said the rise in the sea level has led to large-scale intrusion of saline water into the inland river system, impacting the livelihoods of communities reliant on crop agriculture, horticulture and livestock rearing in the coast region of Bangladesh.

In this context, brackish water aquaculture emerges as the most feasible and readily achievable solution for communities living along 710 kilometers of coastal belt of the country, he added.

In his keynote presentation, Team Leader for BSFF Dr Md Zillur Rahman said that during the implementation of the pilot project over a period of 8 months, including 6.5 months grow-out period in pond, the imported fingerlings were nursed at the hatchery and hapa level using commercial formulated feeds with scientific water management and proper feed administration.

"The pilot exercise resulted in encouraging production outcome with minimal mortality and good FCR (1.2). It was demonstrated that during the project period, the fingerlings could be grown from the size of 1.5cm to 30.2cm with the average final weight of around 1 kg. The average sale price of Seabass was Tk 640 per kg."

Dr. Cherdsak Virapat, Director General of CIRDAP, in his remarks, congratulated BSFF for successful piloting of this commercial feed-based Seabass production with technical support and inputs from Thai Union under an MoU, facilitated by CIRDAP, between Thai Union and BSFF for the purpose.

Ambassador Liaquat Ali Choudhury, Policy Adviser of BSFF, in his observation, highlighted the importance of continued cooperation of Bangladesh with relevant regional and international partners with a view to facilitating transfer of cutting-edge production technologies for future growth of a climate-resilient aquaculture sector in Bangladesh.

A.H.M. Shafiquzzaman, Director General (Additional Secretary), Directorate of National Consumers' Right Protection, MoC, chaired the workshop.

Secretary for Commerce Md Selim Uddin and Fisheries and Livestock Secretary Sayeed Mahmood Belal Haider also spoke.