Higher Study in Fisheries: Why and How?

Importance of Fisheries education:

• Bangladesh is a country of rivers, rivulets and tributaries. These water bodies abound in fishery resources. Around 60% of animal protein is supplied by the fisheries items which are also considered as the cheapest and richest source of animal protein. Only fisheries science can effectively assist in understanding the mechanisms and thereby increase in animal protein supply through fisheries items.
• Bangladesh is one of the richest countries of the world considering the availability of fisheries resources but annual fish production is still less than the demand of country people. To meet this demand fisheries education is must through which production can be increased in an environment friendly condition.
• Bangladesh earns second highest foreign currency from fisheries sector by exporting fisheries products. Also considering product sources, fisheries sector is found to be the largest highest export earning sources for the country because garment raw materials are imported from foreign countries whereas fisheries products are completely of native sources. We get only 20% of the raw materials out of the total capacity of the prawn/shrimp processing factories. Therefore, fisheries education can play a vital role to expand the fisheries industries as well as to increase the export earnings as a sustainable basis.
• About 1.25 crore of people (10% of the country’s total population) are directly or indirectly involved in fisheries sector for their livelihood in Bangladesh. Four out of every five rural dwellers of the country are dependent to some extent on aquatic resources. No other sector is found with this sort of dependency in Bangladesh. Fisheries education can assist effectively in using the aquatic resources and human resources as well.
• Under the above circumstances the importance of fisheries education is felt to a greater extent to the nation with important indications like- increasing the number of fisheries graduates through different universities and increasing the research, extension and development activities through providing employment opportunities of these graduates at different government and non-government organizations, donor / development agencies, banks and private sectors. Therefore, simply to think fisheries education as an way to earn a degree or certificate is to miss its crucial role it can play in finding thousands of ways for employment generation in country and abroad.

 

Employment Scope for the fisheries graduates:

A good number of fisheries specialist is required for research, extension and development activities as follows:

Government Organizations (GOs):

DoF (Department of Fisheries under the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock), Ministry of Youth and Sports, Ministry of Planning, Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute (BFRI), Bangladesh Fisheries Development Corporation (BFDC), Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC) etc.

Non-Government Organizations (NGOs):

BRAC, Proshika, Grameen Bank, RDRS, Banchte Shekha, TMSS etc.

International Organizations:

World Fish Center, FAO, UNDP, CARE etc.

Private Sectors:

Fish farms, hatcheries, feed mills, processing factories etc.

Projects and Programmes:

GoB funded different projects and programmes, International donor (DFID, USAID, DANIDA, EC etc.) supported different projects and programmes

Banks:

Bangladesh Krishi Bank, Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank, Sonali Bank, Agrani Bank etc.

 

Fisheries Education in Bangladesh:

Following Department/faculty/Discipline/Institute/Academy/Collage offering the Fisheries Education at undergraduate and/or postgraduate level in Bangladesh:

• Department of Fisheries, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi.

• Faculty of Fisheries, Bangladesh Agriculture University, Mymensingh.

• Department of Fisheries, University of Dhaka, Dhaka.

• Faculty of Fisheries, Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University, Dinajpur.

• Fisheries and Marine Resources Technology (FMRT) Discipline, Khulna University, Khulna.

• Faculty of Fisheries, Sylhet Agricultural University, Sylhet.

• Department of Fisheries and Marine Science (FIMS), Noakhali Science and Technology University, Noakhali.

• Faculty of Fisheries, Patuakhali Science and Technology University.

• Institute of Marine Science and Fisheries, University of Chittagong, Chittagong.

• Bangladesh Marine Fisheries Academy, Chittagong.

• Faculty of Fisheries, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University, Salna, Gazipur, Bangladesh.

• Department of Aquaculture and Fisheries, Jessore University of Science and Technology, Churamonkathi, Jessore.

• Shaik Fazilatunnesa Muzib Fisheries Collage, Melandhaha, Jamalpur.

 

Acknowledgement: Shams Muhammad Galib and Md. Mehedi Hasan

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