Experts at a workshop Sunday stressed the need for compliance of Good Aquaculture Practices (GAqP) at every stage of fish production and its marketing for a sustainable aquaculture industry in the country.
Terming aquaculture a modern and quality management approach for the sake of better health of the future generation, they said the sector contributes around 55 per cent to the country's total fish production.
Mentioning that around 80 to 85 per cent of the total earnings from exportable fisheries come from aquaculture, they emphasised strengthening GAqP in the fisheries sector to boost fish production and also increase fish exports.
The experts were speaking at a consultation workshop on "Good Aquaculture Practices (GAqP) in Bangladesh - Status of Food Safety" organised by Bangladesh Shrimp and Fish Foundation (BSFF) in collaboration with Department of Fisheries (DoF) and the Food Safety Program of FAO-UN at a city hotel.
Fisheries and Livestock Secretary Shelina Afroza was present as the chief guest while BSFF Chairman Syed Mahmudul Huq presided over the session.
Speaking on the occasion Shelina Afroza said people are now found using pesticides, antibiotics and hormones in fish cultivation although good fish was hugely caught and supplied before.
"The main concern is to ensure safe food," she said adding that fish farmers should have to be aware of the use of pesticides for sake of building a healthy nation.
In his keynote presentation, BSFF Executive Director Mahmudul Karim said: "For a sustainable aquaculture industry we have to comply with internationally accepted GAqP and code of conduct for achieving national food safety."
Bangladesh Frozen Foods Exporters Association (BFFEA) President said: "Fish is the third largest export item of our national export basket. The export of shrimp and fish may be increased remarkably if we can comply with good aquaculture practices throughout the value chain of the fisheries industry."
He said GAqP is a modern and time-befitting quality management approach which should be complied with by all stakeholders from the beginning of the field level. GAqP is a collective effort of all farmers, depot operators, suppliers, feed millers and seed (post larvae) producers."
DoF Director General Syed Arif Azad said: "We have to increase the amount of fish and to do so farmers have to maintain three things - increase depth of water to 1.2 to 1.5 metres, do compulsory polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test for post larvae and put the post larvae into the pond after nursing."
"By maintaining these three things we can easily increase the production of shrimp to 600 kg per hectare or more which is now only 300 kg."
Azad urged all concerned to work together to make a significant contribution to the fisheries sector, which was getting improved day by day.
"We have a target to export fish and fish products worth US$ 1.0 billion by 2015," he said.
Syed Mahmudul Huq said food safety is an integral part of food security; any effort to increase production whether for agriculture or aquaculture without ensuring food safety, it would be counter-productive.
Food safety, environmental sustainability and social responsibility are the main principles upon which the model of GAqP has been developed by different international agencies like FAO, JIFSAN and global aquaculture alliance.
"We have adapted this to our needs and updating this to address the emerging needs," he said.
FAO country project manager Nurul Islam, SaFal (Solidaridad Bangladesh) country director Selim Reza Hasan, JIFSAN researcher Michael Jahncke and Clare Narrod were present at the workshop.
Besides, US department of agriculture International Trade Specialist Shane Danielson and UNIDO-BEST technical adviser (shrimp safety) Shetty Seetharama Thombathu were present, among others, in the programme.
