The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

Speakers at a seminar yesterday called upon the Government to create alternative employment for the fishermen, who become unemployed and lost around Tk5 crore during the last seven months since the hilsha fry fishing was banned.

Society for Development Initiatives (SDI) organised a seminar titled "Fishing Ban Impact and Alternative Livelihood" at the conference room of LGED Bhaban in the city.

Oxfan GB Bangladesh and SDI jointly conducted a research led by Dr khurshid Alam on the impact on the fishermen after banning Hilsha Fry fishing and the way to resolve this.

After researching Alam presented some proposals at the seminar. The key speaker Md Rafiqul Islam, Director of Fish Department, said the fishermen near Meghna and Andarmanik River lives on fishing Hilsha Fry from November to May. More than 60 per cent of fishermen have neither cropland nor another way of earning. About 2,33,000 fishermen become unemployed during this season. So it is essential to rehabilitate the fishermen.

Shamsul Haq, Executive Director of SDI presided over the seminar. He said, more than three lakh families in the coastal areas are completely dependent on fishing. They are the victims of various problems. But there is no proper policy to support them for their professional development.

He urged the Government to include the fishermen in the Safety Net programme to provide technical support.

Dr MA Hakim, Managing Director of Palli Karma Sahayak Foundation; Dr Abdus Salam, Chairman of Biology Department of Dhaka University; Farid Hossain, Programme officer of SDI, among others, were present at the seminar.