Good aquaculture practice and improvement of quality control expertise are required for ensuring safe fisheries production of the country, Bangladesh's Fisheries and Livestock Minister Abdul Latif Biswas said.

While the country's shrimp sector has suffered adverse situation due to natural calamity and export was banned by the EU for eight months during the last year, the country's export earnings from the seafood sector was BDT3243.405 crore (US$467 million) in 2009.

Considering the seafood industry as the second largest export industry after garments, Biswas said the present government has taken various steps under the "Strengthening of Fish Inspection and Quality Control" (SFIQC) project of Department of Fisheries (DoF) and Bangladesh Quality Support Programme (BQSP).

The project has been taken in order to meet international standard and market requirements from harvesting to final products with the financial and technical assistance of the EU, the minister added.

Already more than 25,000 people including the shrimp farmers, depot-owners and concerned workers of different shrimp processing factories have received training on Good Aquaculture Practice (GAP), Good Hygiene Practice (GHP) and Good Manufacture Practice (GMP) under the project, he said.

The fisheries minister also stressed quick implementation of some recommendations related to the quality control management of the fisheries sector as demanded by the EU regulation.

Country's shrimp industry's exports stand at over US$500 million annually and the sector employs 0.6 million people.