The government is planning to bring the fishermen under subsidy provision as they face ban on catching mother hilsha during its peak breeding season, said Fisheries and Livestock Minister Mohammed Sayedul Haque.
“We will give the fishermen rice and cash incentives during the peak breeding season to motivate them not to catch hilsha during the period,” the minister told the parliament yesterday.
Replying to a query, he said: “The government with a view to providing financial support to marginal fisherman has so far registered some 1,428,000 fishermen from 482 upazilas and brought 1,310,000 fishermen under data entry system.
“We have taken photographs of 1,050,000 fishermen and prepared identity (ID) cards for them.”
The minister said the government distributed 153,784.80 metric tonnes of food grains and around TK193 crore among 384,462 fishermen families as financial support for five months during the 2015-2016 financial year.
Meanwhile, the government is considering providing 30,756.96 metric tonnes of food grains and Tk 384,462,000 among 384,462 fishermen during the one month ban on catching mother hilsha fish in 2016, added the minister.
Replying to another query, the minister said: “Bangladesh is producing 3,548,000 metric tonnes of fish while the demand of the per capita fish of the country is 2,190,000 kilogram yearly whereas the consumption rate is 1,930,000 kilogram.
Replying to another query, the minister said that country will be self-sufficient in fish production by 2021 through producing 4,200,000 metric tonnes of fish.