Bangladesh
United Nations UN will support fishing in Bay of Bengal
Dhaka, May 23: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) will support the development of livelihoods of the people of the Bay of Bengal and coastal areas through the extraction of fish and marine resources. As part of this, FAO will provide technical and financial grant support to Bangladesh.
A project agreement titled 'Sustainable Management of Fisheries Marine Living Resources and Their Habitats in the Bay of Bengal Region for the Benefit Coastal States and Communities' was signed between the Economic Relations Department (ERD) and FAO representatives at the Sherebangla Nagar NEC conference room in the capital on Monday. ERD Secretary Sharifa Khan and FAO Representative in Bangladesh Robert Douglas Sungson signed the agreement on behalf of the Government of Bangladesh.
The main objective of the project is to protect the ecological balance of fish and marine animals and their habitats in the Bay of Bengal and coastal areas through sustainable management and to support the livelihood and socio-economic development of the people living in the coastal areas.
The total amount of grant assistance in this project is 5.5 million US dollars. The project will be implemented by the Department of Fisheries. The Forest Department will act as an associate agency.
Since 1973, FAO has provided technical grant assistance to 354 projects in Bangladesh. The organization has been playing an important role in the development of agriculture, environment and other related sectors.
Meanwhile, new devices and technology are being added to 10,000 boats to identify fishing boats in the sea, said Fisheries and Livestock Minister Sh. M. Rezaul Karim.
He said, new equipment and technology are being attached to 10,000 boats soon to detect fishing boats in the sea. Under the Sustainable Coastal and Marine Fisheries Project being implemented by the Department of Fisheries, the work of adding Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) to commercial fishing trawlers and Automatic Identification System (AIS) and Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) respectively to artisanal and mechanized fishing vessels is underway. Through this, the location of authorized seagoing vessels will be known and they can be easily monitored. If these vessels violate the law, there will be an opportunity to take legal action including canceling the license.
