Bangladesh should focus more on the vast, untapped potential of the blue economy to emerge as a major seafood exporter within the next few years.
For doing so, there is a need for greater coordination among stakeholders, drawing more foreign direct investment, and building local capacity in specialised sectors like deep-sea fishing.
The observations came at a seminar titled 'Investment Potential in Fisheries and Marine Economy in Bangladesh', which was held at a city hotel on Monday.
The Maheshkhali Integrated Development Authority (MIDA) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) jointly hosted the high-profile event.
The seminar brought together policymakers, senior government officials, development partners, fisheries experts, industry leaders, entrepreneurs and prospective investors to brainstorm and identify as to how Bangladesh can unlock higher-value investment in its fisheries and marine economy.
The seminar focused on four high-potential areas where Bangladesh has significant resource depth but limited commercial scale -- deep-sea fishing, mariculture, aquaculture and shrimp, and seafood processing.
Discussants highlighted the scope for investment in industrial fishing fleets, offshore operations, landing and logistics systems, commercial mariculture, certified shrimp value chains, cold-chain infrastructure and modern seafood processing facilities.
Rear Admiral (Retd.) Md. Khurshed Alam delivered the keynote address on investment opportunities in Bangladesh's Blue Economy sector.
The seminar also featured four presentations on Bangladesh's shrimp industry, Japanese fishery market opportunities, tuna fishing in the Bay of Bengal, and prospects for mariculture and seafood processing in Bangladesh.
Delivering his speech, Executive Chairman of MIDA Ashik Chowdhury said MIDA's core pillar, the fisheries and marine economy hub, is a national mandate, and the authority is always in coordination with the government and the private sector.
Bangladesh's marine economy has significant potential, but investors need a clearer path from opportunity to implementation, he observed.
"We discussed the regulatory, infrastructural and institutional constraints that still need to be addressed, as well as the policy support and government commitment required to unlock investment," he said.
In his remarks, Md Delwar Hossain, secretary of the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, underscored the importance of policy support and institutional reforms to strengthen the fisheries sector and attract greater investment.
Deputy Chief of Mission and Minister at the Embassy of Japan in Bangladesh Takahashi Naoki, Chief Representative of the JICA Bangladesh Office Takahashi Junko, MIDA Executive Member Commodore Tanzim Faruq spoke on the occasion among others.
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