Bangladesh has stressed that sea resources must be governed on the principles of mutual trust, respect and benefits and equitable sharing of benefits.
“Many of the developing countries like Bangladesh do not possess the critically required resources, capabilities and technologies.
"But that must not limit their access and right of equitable harnessing of vast marine resources,” said Secretary (maritime affairs) Khorshed Alam at the Blue Economy Summit in Abu Dhabi yesterday.
In his speech, Alam said Bangladesh recognised the need for collaborative partnerships in the wider space of ocean governance in a bid to explore the untapped potentials in sea.
“Countries as ours must be supported in terms of knowledge and critical minimum of resources and capacity to bring the bay under surveillance,” he said.
In the summit, he invited the Indian Ocean rim countries to an expert level meeting in Bangladesh in July to assess and re-discover the wider potential of blue economy and determine actions regarding it.
The secretary pointed out that rising sea level and salinity intrusion upstream have posed existential threats for Bangladesh.
“There is a critical need to inquire into the science of ocean acidification and the meteorological behavior and related aspects in the Bay of Bengal,” he said.
Bangladesh has 12 nautical miles of territorial sea, 200 nautical miles of exclusive economic zone and continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles and over 700km coastal frontiers.
About 475 species of fish are found in the Bay of Bengal, more than 200 commercial trawlers operate in the bay and over 50,000 mechanised and non-mechanised boats ply on coastal waters for fishing, while around 30 million people rely on the sea to make a living.