Mother shrimp imports kick up debate
The fisheries ministry plans to allow imports of pathogen-free mother shrimps and post-larvae for farming for the first time in a decade—a move that has drawn mixed reactions from hatchery operators.
Some hatchery owners said there was no need to import mother shrimps as the country has enough local supply, while others said imports would increase production and make the farms disease-free.
Officials at the Department of Fisheries (DoF) said the move would boost production of disease-free shrimps and boost exports.
On a pilot basis, the department is set to allow one hatchery operator to import mother shrimps of black tiger variety to produce fries. Later, import permission will be given to other hatcheries, DoF Director General Syed Arif Azad said.
"Imported shrimps will have to be disease-free. Our objective is to increase production and make the farms disease-free."
But Moshiur Rahman, president of Shrimp Hatchery Owners' Association of Bangladesh, said: "We have had bad experiences in the past. The import of shrimp fries had led to the spread of viruses in local farms, causing losses to many farmers."
He said the government also did not consult the hatchery owners before taking the decision.
On the other hand, Main Uddin Ahmad, a past president of the association, alleged that 80 percent of the mother shrimps, including the post larvae, collected from the Bay of Bengal are infected with diseases.
This is a trial project to introduce the black tiger shrimps in a controlled environment, he added.
Ahmad said 14 hatcheries had earlier issued statements in favour of allowing imports of pathogen-free broods of mother shrimps.
On November 24 last year, the DoF issued a notification seeking applications from shrimp hatcheries interested in importing broods of black tiger shrimps and post-larvae.
After the notification, the platform of hatchery owners appealed to the government to cancel the decision.
"Our hatchery technicians carry out proper checks to obtain disease-free mother shrimps for spawning," the association had said in a statement.
Abu Sufian Chowdhury, managing director of Modern Hatchery, said the government should establish quarantine facilities at the ports before allowing imports.
Ahsan Iqbal Chowdhury, secretary general of Bangladesh Marine Fisheries Association, also opposed the decision. He said it is useless when there is a local supply.
"What is the problem in checking the locally collected mother shrimps if you can examine the imported ones?" he asked.
Prof Md Jahangir Alam, dean of Faculty of Fisheries at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University, said if imports are allowed, it might benefit the local industry. “But the farms should be well-managed.”
Azad of the DoF said the initiative was taken based on recommendations from a technical committee.
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