The government has taken measures to save the country’s fisheries sector from the possible financial damages caused by the coronavirus pandemic, an official said.
Under the move, the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock (MoF&L) has taken short, mid and long-term measures to help save the sector from the pandemic fallout.
The measures include exemption of interests against bank loans and giving incentives to fish farmers, fishermen and shrimp exporters to keep the production wheel of the sector running.
“We have taken short, mid and long-term measures to keep the country’s fisheries sector alive,” secretary of the MoF&L Rawnak Mahmud told the FE on Friday.
He said the Fisheries and Livestock Minister S M Rezaul Karim also requested the stakeholders and concerned government departments to help the fish farmers and fishermen gear up fish production, supply and marketing.
We also proposed the government to provide partial financial support to the fish farmers and fishermen so that they could buy fish feeds and others inputs for fish production, he added.
MoF&L has directed the officials of the fisheries department to coordinate with the deputy commissioners and law enforcement agencies including police to ensure the supply chain of fisheries free from disruption, he said.
Mr Mahmud said the MoF&L has launched hotline 02-9122557 so that the fish farmers and fishermen could let know their problems immediately.
Bangladesh is one of the world's leading fish-producing countries. Average growth performance of this sector is 5.26 per cent for the last 10 years.
The aquaculture production contributes 56.24 per cent of the total fish production of the country.
Bangladesh has already emerged a self-sufficient country in fish production, with a per capita fish consumption of 62.58 g/day against a set target of 60 g/day.
The country exported 68,935 tonnes of fish and fisheries items worth US $514 million during the fiscal year 2017-18, according to the Department of Fisheries Bangladesh.
