French cos show interest in taking part in Bangladesh’s initiative

French companies have expressed their interest to take part in Bangladesh's efforts to develop its fisheries management and blue economy, and to combat illegal fishing within the country's maritime boundary.

A French company, Collecte Localisation Satellites (CLS), a global leader in fisheries management solutions, has offered solutions and technologies to support the initiative of Bangladesh for its sustainable fisheries sector investment and growth.

The company provides satellite services based on localisation and environmental data collection, ocean and island water monitoring, and land and marine monitoring.

It proposed to build an integrated web-based fisheries information system hosted in Bangladesh to support the Department of Fisheries (DoF) in monitoring, control, and surveillance of industrial and artisanal fisheries, in managing fish stocks, and in fisheries science, according to the CLS.

All these tools, it added, would provide the evidence needed for best managing fisheries and protecting Bangladesh's newly expanded Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and its fishing resources.

The CLS, a company established in 1986 by the French Space Agency (CNES) and the French national sea research institute (Ifremer), found no data on stock assessment and the entry of illegal fishing vessels and poaching inside the EEZ.

To protect Bangladesh's fisheries resources, the country must track fishing vessels and the catches, and the company (CLS) can provide solutions for both, Remi De Dianous, CLS Team Leader for Technical Projects and Contracts of Sustainable Management of Fisheries, told a group of journalists from Bangladesh who visited the CLS office in Toulouse, France recently.

In October last year, the World Bank (WB) made US$ 240 million available to support Bangladesh in developing its sustainable fisheries management and blue economy, and to combat illegal fishing.

The WB programme is expected to help increase coastal and marine fisheries' contribution to the economy, poverty reduction, and environmental stability by improving management of coastal and marine fisheries and aquaculture.

According to a WB study, the ocean contributes more than billions of dollar annually to the Bangladesh economy and has the potential to generate more income. At present, boats and trawlers are able to reach only 70 km of the 660 km distance freely available for fishing, leaving more than 80 per cent of the total waters unexplored. Fish beyond 100-metre depth is also not being explored.

Philippe Roques, Chief Digital and Operations Officer at the CLS, said the company is very interested in developing tracking solutions for the fishing trawlers of Bangladesh.

The Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) developed by the CLS is the most modern and equipped with the state-of-the-art technology, he said, adding that installation of the system in the registered fishing trawlers and ships would help monitor their movement and protect marine resources. He said their VMS devices were designed for small vessel needs and were equipped with SOS safety alert and weather alerts.

Meanwhile, Frederic Moncany de Saint-Aignan, president of the French Maritime Cluster, an association of 430 entities that deals with salt water, in an exchange with a visiting group of journalists from Bangladesh said they would be willing to share their experience in fishing if Bangladesh wants to develop its blue economy.

Created in 2006, the association brings together all players in the maritime ecosystem from industry to services and maritime activities of all kinds. Today, it is made up of companies of all sizes, competitiveness clusters, federations and associations, laboratories and research centres, schools and training organisations, local authorities and economic actors, as well as the French Navy. The association made 340,000 direct jobs as of 2018, excluding tourism, and generates 84 billion euros, roughly 3.0 per cent of French GDP. It has working groups dedicated to one specific job while there are seven overseas clustres, including in Vienna, Singapore, Mumbai and Shanghai.

In response to a question, Mr. Frederic said the association has no plan as of now to form a clustre in Bangladesh, but would appreciate an effort to make connection through their Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He stressed the need for addressing together the issue of illegal fishing, which is equivalent to legal fishing. He also stressed curbing fishing and informed that the European Union adopted a common fishing policy to keep fish stock intact. Now the fish stock has increased.

He said the main challenges are to make top policy makers aware of the potential of blue economy, followed by adopting a policy to ensure governance and financing.

"I'm sure in decades the blue economy will be the strong factor in economic growth," he added, stressing the need for addressing the challenges.

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