The New Nation - Internet Edition

Our Correspondent, Barisal

Participants of a day long workshop on 'review of fishery related policy, law, act and ordinance' emphasized on execution of marginal level fishermen-friendly policy and prevention against climate change and environment pollution affecting open water fishing resources and ensuring sovereignty over the international maritime boundary line.

They suggested organizing marginal level fishermen with professional identity cards, supplying interest free or low interest rated fishery loan for marginal fishermen like marginal farmers of agriculture sector. Regular survey and extending assistance to improve their conditions and solve the problems of the marginal fishermen by relating local government representatives to develop and preserve open water fishing resources of the country also called.

Community Development Centre (CODEC) arranged the program with assistances from district fishery department and NGO Manusher Jonno Foundation at the conference room of the deputy commissioner of Barisal on Sunday at Saint Bangladesh Auditorium of the city .

Compiled research results and suggestions collected from 29 including 9 coastal upazilas presented through audio-visual affects in the program. The program was presided over by Kamol Sen Gupta, deputy executive director of CODEC with Santosh Ranjan Talukdar, additional divisional commissioner of Barisal, as chief guest.

Abdullah Al Mamun Khan, senior operating officer of monitoring and research department of CODEC, conducted the program addressed by Md. Abdul Aziz, deputy director, Bankim Chandra Biswas, assistant director of fishery, district fishery officer, Md. Israil Pundit, member of upazila alliance body of CODEC, chairman of Chandramohan union parishad of Barisal and central president of Khudra Matsayajibi Samity.

About 40 participants including grass root level fishermen, fish merchants, journalists, lawyers, fishery and youth development officials, elites attended the program. In the discussion it was revealed that climate change by global warming, green house affects, and environmental pollutions influencing decreasing of fishing wealth in open water sources.

Change of river flows and currents, emerging shoals and increasing erosion, constructing dams, embankment, polluting water resources by dumping industrial wastages, chemicals, water transport fuels on water, using chemical fertilizers and pesticides on lands also severely affecting fishing resources. The participants also emphasized on ensuring safety and security for Bangladeshi fishermen in coast and deep sea fishing sectors across the international marine boundary to stop looting of fishing wealth, pollution and illegal encroachment by foreign fishing boats, trawlers, ships. Execution of government policy with the theme of 'Machher Bangsha Rakkha Peley, Khaddayo Ortho Dui Meley' (If fish resources are protected, food and money are guaranteed) needs incitement of local government representatives with the program, they said.

The facilities approved by the policy, law, act and ordinances are mostly fishermen friendly, but mainly using not by the grass root level fishermen engage fishing on rivers, haors, estuary, coast and sea., but by closed water fish farmers, psciculture cultivators, fish merchant Mahajans, middlemen Faria and Dalals. The real grass root level fishermen engaged in vast open water fishing day and night under sun and rain and storm for their livelihood are ignorant, deprived and without capacities to achieve those facilities, leader of the fishermen association claimed.