Unabated extraction of fishes has been posing threat to the fishing resources at the Bay due to issuance of licenses to the fishing vessels without conducting any survey.
Sources at the Marine Fishery Department said a total of 167 fishing vessels have been engaged in fishing at the Bay.
Of the vessels, 130 have license while rests have been running on trial basis following a High Court direction.
But the government in 1985 decided in principle to keep the number of fishing vessels at 73
Dr Zafar Alam, a professor at the Marine Science Department of the Chittagong University, said unplanned extraction of fishes had started putting a negative impact on the reserve of fishing resource, adding that 30 species of fishes had been reducing in an alarming rate due to the cause.
“The number of Shark and Jelly fishes has increased significantly in the Cox’s Bazar, Teknuf and Saint Martin area in the recent period,” he said, adding that it was an alarm to reduce usable fishing resource.
He also said no survey was conducted after 1977 to ascertain the number of species of fishes at the Bay.
“Providing license to new vessels was not rational before conducting a fresh survey,” he added.
Saif Rahman, secretary general of Marine Fishing Boat Owners’ Association, said the existing number of fishing vessels had already crossed the limit and they were against issuing of new license.
“Further increase of fishing vessels will only destroy the fishing resource in the bay,” he said.
Ashraf Uddin Nizan MP, a member of the parliament standing committee on fisheries and livestock ministry, told Dhaka Tribune that both the Awami League and BNP governments had issued licenses for the fishing vessels based on political consideration.
“Thirty three licenses have already been provided to the influential persons of the government while issuance of 25 more licenses is underway,” he said.
Nasiruddin Mohammed Humaiun, director of the Marine Fisheries Department, said a survey of vessel involving Tk780m in 2008 was undertaken but it could not be implemented due to different complexities.
“A fresh project has been undertaken involving Tk1.2b to procure the vessel and conduct the survey,” he added.
Sources said small variety of fishes were being extracted by the local fishermen in coastal areas in unplanned ways till 1971 while reserve of huge species of fishes came to the notice of the Russian experts, who had been engaged in making the port channel free from hazard after the liberation war.
Sources also said the Russian experts informed the Bangladesh government of the potential to extract huge fishing resource in a planned way from the deep sea adding that the Russian government had also provided 13 fishing vessels to Bangladesh during the period.
Sources, however, said the previous government had provided 45 licenses ignoring the earlier decision while the present government had so far issued 34 licenses apart from giving nod to issuance of more 25 licenses in a cabinet meeting recently.
