Total fish production can rise to 85 lakh MT by 2041

The government has set a target to produce 85 lakh metric tonnes of fish by 2041, said Minister for Fisheries and Livestock SM Rezaul Karim on Monday.

“The government has set a target to produce 85 lakh mts of fish by 2041, which is 1.8 times higher than the current production,” he said while speaking at a press briefing held at Matsya Bhaban on the occasion of National Fisheries Week-2023.

The government has taken various steps to ensure that the fish produced in the country are safe for the health of the human being, he said.

The National Fisheries Week-2013 is being observed in the country with a theme that is “Nirapad Mache Vorbo Desh, Gorbo Smart Bangladesh” (Let’s the country be filled with safe fish production and Build Smart Bangladesh), reports UNB.

Smart technology will be used in the process of production, marketing, processing and export in the smart fisheries sector and the ministry is working with a target to contribute most to building smart Bangladesh, said the minister.

“Earlier, our target was to increase the production of fish but now our target is to build ‘smart Bangladesh’ through increasing healthy and safe fish production. The government has built an international standard laboratory to produce safe and healthy fish and supplied it locally and internationally,” said Rezaul.

Fish from Bangladesh is being exported to 52 countries and in the fiscal year 2022-2023 the government earned Tk 4,790.30 crore as revenue after exporting 70,000 mts of fish and fisheries products, he said adding that “Some 1.95 crore people have been involved directly or indirectly in the fisheries sector.”

Mentioning that, Bangladesh now holds the top position in producing Hilsa in the globe while it ranked third in producing fish in inland open water, fifth in cultivating fish in fish enclosures and fourth in producing Tilapia fish in the world, said the minister.