By Mizan Rahman
Dhaka
Bangladesh and India have agreed to work together on locating Hilsa breeding and nursery grounds, and study its migratory routes to boost its production and creating awareness in both the
countries.
The decision was taken at the second meeting of the joint working group (JWG) between India and Bangladesh on co-operation in the field of fisheries held in Goa, India recently, senior officials of the fisheries
ministry said in Dhaka yesterday.
The Indian delegation was led by Aditya Kumar Joshi, a joint secretary in the ministry of agriculture and farmers welfare of the government of India, while the Bangladesh delegation was headed by Anisur Rahman, additional secretary in Bangladesh’s ministry of fisheries and livestock.
The meeting decided to create awareness among Hilsa fishermen and other stakeholders in both the countries aiming to conserve the species and other common fishery resources with a co-ordinated
management approach.
At the meeting, the Indian side sought a joint stock assessment of Hilsa. Besides, it was proposed to have a co-ordinated co-operation plan of action for conservation and management of Hilsa by incorporating the recommendations of the Bangladesh national plan of action on Hilsa management and the Indian Hilsa management plan.
For having collaboration in the field of aquaculture, especially exchange of germ plasm of identified fish species, it was agreed that the progress has been slow in developing protocols for the exchange of germ plasm of identified fish species.
It was also decided to proceed further and locate the nodal organisations in respect of aquaculture and exchange of germ plasm of identified fish species.
According to the agreed minutes, the Bangladesh side requested for training their officials for stock assessment studies with the help of nodal organisations like Fishery Survey of India (FSI), and Central Marine Fisheries Institute (CMFRI) of India.
The Bangladesh delegation also sought from India onboard training on Tuna in FSI survey vessels to officials and stakeholders of Bangladesh.
Besides, the issue of apprehension of fishermen who stray incidentally or accidentally into the other countries water was discussed and it was agreed that such cases should be settled expeditiously with the respective authorities.
Both the countries agreed to create more awareness of the international boundary line amongst the fishermen to avoid trans-boundary drifting of fishing vessels.