The interim government鈥檚 fisheries and livestock affairs adviser, Farida Akhter, on Friday said that hilsa harvesting dropped by up to 48 per cent this season.
The harvesting of the national fish has been declining gradually due mainly to river pollution, she said.
鈥楿nfortunately, the harvest of our national fish hilsa has dropped by 38 to 48 per cent this season for different reasons, including river pollution, overfishing, reduction of navigability and climate change,鈥� the adviser said.
She made the remarks while addressing the inaugural session of a three-day 鈥業nternational conference for sustainable fisheries鈥� as the chief guest at Sylhet Agricultural University.
鈥榃e have no choice but to ensure healthy and sustainable fish production,鈥�
she said, adding that a special priority was needed to boost hilsa production and a collective effort was necessary to advance the country鈥檚 fisheries sector.
鈥楢rrangements must be made so that hilsa can be available for the common people of the country,鈥� the adviser said.
Sylhet Agricultural University鈥檚 fisheries faculty for the third time organised the international conference that was participated by more than 600 teachers, researchers and fisheries scientists from different educational institutions and research institutes in and outside the country.
Professor Md Abdul Wahab of the marine fisheries and aquaculture department of Bangladesh Maritime University presented the keynote paper in the three-day conference for sustainable fisheries.
SAU vice-chancellor professor Md Alimul Islam, its treasurer professor ATM Mahbub-e-Elahi, Bangladesh Fisheries Department director general Md Abdur Rouf, Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute director general Anuradha Bhadra, former Sylhet City Corporation mayor Ariful Haque Chowdhury and Pubali Bank PLC chief executive officer Muhammad Ali, among others, addressed the programme, with the university fisheries faculty dean professor Nirmal Chandra Roy in the chair.聽
