Sea Resources firms up foothold

People use modern equipment to fish in seawater. Sea Resources Group, a local sector leader, has flagged deals with two Danish companies to make fishing gear and hydraulic machinery in Bangladesh. Photo: Sea ResourcesSohel Parvez

Sea Resources Group has shored up its foothold by signing deals with two Danish companies to manufacture fishing gear and hydraulic machinery.

Officials of the leading deep-sea fishing entity said the twin deals would cut import-dependency and help the local company explore global markets.

One of the joint venture deals was with Cosmos Trawl, a Danish fishing gear maker. In line with the agreement, a state-of-the art unit will be set up to make net and trawl doors to meet rising demand by deep-sea fishing trawlers in Bangladesh and beyond.

To make hydraulic machinery in Bangladesh, Sea Resources has signed another agreement with AS-SCAN Hvide Sandem, also a Danish company.

“We are trying to sharpen our competitive edge,” said Amanullah Chowdhury, joint managing director of Sea Resources that boasts a 15-vessel fleet for deep-sea fishing.

In the sector, there are 140 trawlers officially permitted to go for deep-sea fishing. Usually, deep-sea fishing trawlers catch shrimp, pomfret, snapper and tongue sole in the Bay of Bengal -- home to 490 species of fish belonging to 133 families. Of them, 65 species have commercial importance.

Sea Resources earns about $12 million in exports a year. Officials said most of the fishing gear used by trawlers is generally imported. Similarly, hydraulic equipment is also imported.

"The agreements will also allow us to use the know-how in making modern fishing gear such as customised net, trawl doors and hydraulic fishing equipment,” said Chowdhury.

He also said the joint venture would enable them to make modern fishing gear in Bangladesh at lower cost, giving it a competitive edge to explore business opportunities not only in Bangladesh but also in South and Southeast Asian regions.

“In future, we want to tap regional markets,” he said.

Supported by the Danish Business-to-Business (B2B) Programme under Danida, a pilot phase of commercial production of net is underway to establish a net loft on the bank of Karnaphuli river in Chittagong.

Chowdhury said the joint venture entity to be named SRL-Cosmos Ltd would start production of customised net and multi-flexible trawls by January.

The agreement with AS-SCAN Hvide Sandem on manufacturing machinery is also expected to facilitate local capacity in manufacturing hydraulic equipment such as net drum, pump, motor and steering gear.

The production unit will be set up on the premises of Sea Resources, one of the subsidiaries of Fishers Shipyard Ltd.

“Initially we hope to make hydraulic machinery for deep-sea fishing vessels. In the long run, we will be able to provide hydraulic equipment for the emerging shipbuilding industry,” he said.

Chowdhury hoped that initial investments for establishing the net loft and hydraulic machinery unit would stand somewhere between $25-30 million.

“After completion of these two projects, we will be able to improve our efficiency in deep-sea fishing and reduce our cost."

sohel@thedailystar.net