Agriculture, food and fisheries sectors will receive an allocation of Tk 33,698 crore for fiscal year 2022-2023 which was Tk 24,345 crore in outgoing fiscal year 2021-2022.

Proposing the allocation, Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said the government is working persistently to ensure the quality and safety standards of fish and fish products.

“We have formulated the ‘Hilsha Fisheries Management Action Plan’ and have started implementing it. Under this action plan, all fishing is banned for 65 days a year at sea during the breeding season,” he said.

In addition, Jatka (premature hilsa) fishing is prohibited from November- June each year for which support is provided to the fishing households in the form of Vulnerable Group Feeding (VGF).

Thus, the government has been able to increase the hilsa production by more than two-fold, he mentioned.

Hilsa production grew to 5.65 lakh MT in fiscal year 2020-2021, whereas it stood at 2.99 MT in FY2008-2009.

At present, Good Aquaculture Practice (GAP) and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) - based management systems are in operation at all stages of shrimp farming, said the minister.

Around 2.7 lakh shrimp farms and 9651 commercial fish farms have been registered as part of an operating traceability system for the purpose of facilitating fish and fish-products export.

A scheme of e-traceability is being piloted and implementation of “The Fish and Fish Products (Inspection and Quality Control) Act 2020” has begun and this opened the door of secure and standard fish farming for internal and foreign export markets, said the finance minister.