Fisheries and Livestock Adviser Farida Akhter on Thursday said that aiming to prevent foreign fishermen to access and take away resources from Bangladesh water, the government has imposed a fishing ban from 15 April in alignment with neighbouring India.

She made this statement on Thursday afternoon during the inauguration of the modernisation project for the Bangladesh Fisheries Development Corporation's (BFDC) fish landing and wholesale fish market in Cox’s Bazar.

The Adviser noted that local fishermen had often complained that when a fishing ban was in effect in Bangladesh but not in neighboring countries, foreign fishermen would come into Bangladeshi waters to catch fish. Based on research conducted by a special team from the Department of Fisheries, a new timeline for the fishing ban has been established.

The modernisation project in Cox’s Bazar is expected to cost Tk232.83 crore, with Tk172.31 crore funded by JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency). Upon completion, this project will create a better working environment for fishermen and reduce fish landing times, she said.

Stakeholders believe that this initiative will increase the supply of high-quality marine fish and decrease losses.

Present at the inauguration were
Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh, Saida Shinichi; Fisheries and Livestock Ministry Secretary Md Tofazzel Hossain; Fisheries Development Corporation Chairperson and Additional Secretary Suraiya Aktar Jahan; and JICA representative Ichiguchi Tomohide, among others.

Earlier in the day, when journalists attempted to cover the Adviser’s visit, they were blocked by officials from the Fisheries Development Corporation. They were informed that only a “listed group of 10 journalists” would be permitted to attend the official programme, and any others would be addressed by law enforcement. This was confirmed by a local official from the Fisheries Development Corporation. Later, the Adviser expressed her regret to journalists regarding the incident.