Fisheries researchers hope that with proper research the country can utilise up to 50 percent of its marine resources by 2020. Only 18% of the marine resources of the country are currently being used but with research we can make use of 50% of the resources in fish production by 2020, Prof Dr Md Jahangir Alam, president of Bangladesh Fisheries Research Forum (BFRF), told The Daily Star. He was talking to the daily on the second and final day of the 7th Biennial Fisheries Conference and Research Fair organised at the BARC building in Dhaka. BFRF has arranged the fair with the motto to focus on the Blue Economy of Bangladesh. The proper utilisation of resources will leave a positive impact on the country’s food production, Md Jahangir Alam added. The conference also focused on the current challenges and future prospects of aquaculture in Bangladesh. Monowarul Hoque, managing director of Peninsula group and a keynote speaker at the programme, reiterated the necessity of vertical expansion of aquaculture in Bangladesh. Adaptation of Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS) as a fish culture medium can boost fish production up to 30 times more using the same amount of space, said Monowarul Hoque during the presentation. RAS is an indoor fish culture system used in home aquaria and for fish production where water exchange is limited and the use of biofiltration is required to reduce ammonia toxicity. RAS focuses on vertical expansion of space and saving water in fish production.
2016 / thedailystar.net