BANGLADESH: The government has set a target to produce 8.5 million tonnes of fish by 2041, said Minister for Fisheries and Livestock SM Rezaul Karim. “The government has set a target to produce 8.5 million tonnes of fish by 2041, which is 1.8 times higher than the current production,” he said while speaking at a press briefing held at Matsya Bhaban on the occasion of National Fisheries Week-2023. The government has taken various steps to ensure that the fish produced in the country are safe for the health of the human being, he said. The National Fisheries Week-2013 is being observed in the country with theme theme “Nirapad Machhe Vorbo Desh, Gorbo Smart Bangladesh” (Lets the country be filled with safe fish production and Build Smart Bangladesh). Smart technology will be used in the production, marketing, processing and export in the smart fisheries sector and the ministry is working with a target to contribute most to building smart Bangladesh, said the minister. “Earlier, our target was to increase the fish production but now our target is to build ‘smart Bangladesh’ through increasing healthy and safe fish production. The government has built various international standard laboratories to the production of fish but now our target is to build ‘smart Bangladesh’ through increasing healthy and safe fish production. The government has built an international standard laboratory to produce safe and healthy fish and supplied it locally and internationally,” said Rezaul. Fish from Bangladesh is now being exported to 52 countries and in the fiscal year 2022-2023 the government earned USD 44.14 million (BDT. 4790.30 crore) as revenue after exporting 70 000 tonnes of fish and fisheries products, he said adding that “Some 19.5 million people have been involved directly or indirectly in the fisheries sector.” Mentioning that, Bangladesh now holds the top position in producing Hilsa (Hilsa herring or hilsa shad, locally known as the ilish) in the globe while it ranked third in producing fish in inland open water, fifth in cultivating fish in fish enclosures and fourth in producing Tilapia fish in the world, said the minister.

Source: https://unb.com.bd/category/Bangladesh/govt-set-target-to-produce-85-lakh-mts-of-fish-by-2041-minister/119280 ; 24 July 2023. 

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PHILIPPINES : The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) will provide large fishing vessels to tuna catchers in Eastern Samar province to improve their fishing capabilities and production.

BFAR 8 (Eastern Visayas) Hannibal Chavez said on Tuesday they would train in August two fishermen’s groups in Eastern Samar in how to operate the 62-footer fiberglass fishing vessel with full machinery and accessories.

“The target is to implement the project within the year. For one year, the vessels’ operation is under the management of BFAR. If they are already capacitated, the vessel will be turned over to fisherfolk, but we are still there to monitor,” Chavez told the Philippine News Agency (PNA).

Each one of the large fishing vessels has four attached small fishing or catcher boats, which can move away from the mother boat to catch tuna in the Pacific Ocean. It has a storage facility that can carry about two metric tons of fish.

Dan de San Miguel, BFAR-8 provincial fishery director, said the beneficiaries are two fishermen’s associations in the towns of Guiuan and Balangkayan. “The provision of fishing vessel(s) will increase the capacity of our fishermen to catch more tuna. Usually, fishermen in Eastern Samar don’t go far to catch tuna since they always run out of supplies of food, water, and ice,” de San Miguel added.

Commonly, tuna fishing in Samar areas is on a small scale, with locals fishing in the deep waters of the Pacific Ocean using small motorboats only and lines waiting for tunas to bite.

Early this year, the BFAR-8 turned over a PHP39 million purse seine fishing vessel to members of the Northern Samar Pacific Towns Fishermen’s Cooperative. The fisheries bureau awarded the vessel through its Capacitating Municipal Fisherfolk Program designed to raise the capability of local fishers to contribute to the country’s annual tuna production.

The Pacific towns of the province and some areas in Eastern Samar are within the Tuna Conservation Management Zone (TCMZ), which is rich in tuna.

The vessel donated by BFAR to fishermen in Northern Samar made its first voyage on May 15-16, harvesting 1.5 tons of high-value species. The first test-fishing mission of the FV/DA-BFAR 2102 steel-hulled fish harvester within the Pacific Ocean on May 15-16 was successful. The vessel is still up for full turnover to the local fisherfolk group in Northern Samar as the BFAR and fisherfolk have yet to resolve some issues found during the test mission.

The region’s Pacific Ocean, particularly off the coast of Eastern and Northern Samar, is known for tuna fishing with about 600 tons every year, less than the 1,000 tons quota set by the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission. Over the past years, Filipino commercial fishermen gained access to the High Seas Pocket 1, where big tunas are found.

The High Seas Pocket 1 is the area bounded by the exclusive economic zones of the Federated States of Micronesia to the north and east, the Republic of Palau to the west, and the Republic of Indonesia and the Independent State of Papua New Guinea to the south.

(PNA)

MALAYSIA: Job opportunities and benefits from the Social Impact Management Plan (SIMP) will be seen once the Penang South Island (PSI) reclamation work begins. There will be some 600 marine and land-based jobs when reclamation is carried out over 18 months, with priority given to fishermen and local residents.

The positions range from licensed and professional roles to skilled and technical categories. Fishermen will also be given assistance in the form of bigger boats and engines, complete with accessories. Once the reclamation begins, there will be a 250m-wide navigation channel that enables them to go to sea regardless of the tide.

Recently, 11 fishermen took a seafarer course to learn about chartwork, rules and regulations, meteorology, basic training, general ship knowledge and general engineering. Permatang Tepi Laut fisherman Zazali Sirun, 55, said he appreciated the new knowledge.

“I have been a fisherman for over 20 years without knowing anything about maritime law. “Thanks to the opportunity from the Penang government through PSI, I have learned about counting nautical miles to plan my journey at sea, how to travel more safely and the regulations to abide by when at sea,” he said.

Eng Phaik Khoon, 49, from Gertak Sanggul, also said the seafarer course was useful to fishermen. “We learnt about maritime regulations and different types of buoys at sea,” he said.

Eng said although he had been a fisherman since he was 13, he didn’t know many things about navigating safely at sea before he attended the course.

Penang Infrastructure Corporation (PIC) chief executive officer Datuk Seri Farizan Darus said the project would foster growth for small businesses and amplify the multiplier effect within the entire southern community.

PIC is Penang government’s special purpose vehicle to implement the PSI project.

To date, 1,100 locals including fishermen have registered their interest for the available roles.

Source: The Star