August 12, 2009

A stronger shrimp sector with international standard quality and safety procedures could provide a big boost for Bangladesh economy, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) country representative Ad Spijkers said.

Presently about 50,000 black tiger shrimps are produced annually most of which are exported to the EU, US and Japan.

Spijkers said Bangladesh has adopted a millennium action plan to increase earning (expected to earn US$1.5 billion by 2010) from this sector by tripling its present production to introduce a shrimp seed certification system in the form of public-private partnership in the country though joint efforts between the department of fisheries under the ministry of fisheries and livestock and FAO.

Black tiger shrimp is the main culture species of coastal shrimp farming contribute about 60 percent of the cultivable species.

FAO is providing support through a Technical Cooperation Project (TCP), and the main objective of the assistance is to develop and promote a government and private sector based participatory programme of shrimp brood stock (mother shrimp) management and seed certification facility for the department of fisheries in collaboration with the private sector in Cox's Bazar.

Spijkers emphasised on ensuring the quality of the shrimps for the international market and also on Standard Operating Procedures (SoP) that could increase the potentials and yield of approximately 218,000 hectares of coastal tidal lands of Bangladesh that are presently used for shrimp cultivation.