According to the plan, ten 10,000-acre shrimp farms would be designed in the region, and shrimp aquaculture might be implemented on 100,000 acres of empty land in a chosen district throughout the initial stage.

For a set term, regional investors will receive free land to use for shrimp farming. However, following the accomplishment of the pilot phase, the plan will be increased.

In the meantime, a proposition is also being evaluated to provide small farmers with easy-to-repay loans for shrimp farming. However, this is not the first time for such initiatives as the government has undertaken such measures before. As part of the revised pilot shrimp farming cluster development project, the government agreed to raise the overall number of shrimp farms from 3,500 to 10,600 earlier in 2022. The experiment with shrimp farming on 1250 acres of land has proven successful in Punjab as part of a federal government effort.

The Rs. 5,397.84 million pilot projects to build a shrimp farming cluster was originally intended for the Punjab province, but it has now been expanded to Sindh, Balochistan, and the Islamabad Capital Territory.

The Punjab province was the sole area for which the pilot shrimp cluster development project was approved earlier in 2019. The project is expected to be finished in 2024. However, according to the source, the National Coordination Committee (NCC) has opted to change the shrimp farming project to expand its scope to encompass Sindh and Balochistan and increase the project’s target number of shrimp farms from 3500 to 10600.

In order to reduce imports, the government of Punjab will test multiple shrimp hatcheries on these 100,000 acres of unusable land as part of the current pilot program project.

A senior member of the Punjab Fisheries Department stated that shrimp could only be raised in seawater, but that trials for their breeding in saline water reservoirs in various regions of Punjab have been performed successfully in the early years.

He stated that sea salt may also be dissolved in the water intended for the shrimp hatcheries in order to provide a near-natural habitat for crustaceans in the Potohar region of Punjab.

He claimed that Punjab Government plans to increase the shrimp cultivation area from 2,500 to 7,200 acres in order to utilize salinity-affected and desolate lands, with the department providing a Rs120,000 per acre subsidy to producers.

Chaudhry Iftikhar Ahmad, director (extension) of Punjab Fisheries, anticipated that the initiative would assist the country in reducing shrimp imports and generating revenue through exports, while also putting 100,000 acres of unused land to use.

Building shrimp hatcheries, feed mills, and processing facilities has reportedly been a key component of achieving self-reliance in shrimp farming. For example, in Ecuador, shrimp farming is considered as an environmentally friendly industry that generates more than 4.5 billion dollars in revenue annually.

Therefore, 1.5 million acres of uncultivated land that are available for shrimp farming might be a great asset for Punjab. Moreover, experts have high hope for the current project as an experiment with the practice on 1250 acres of land has already proven successful. It is anticipated that should the project be successful; it will contribute to the foreign exchange earnings of billions of dollars.

Jaber Bin Abdul Bari
Department of Oceanography, NSTU

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Currently, the spread of “disease free shrimp fry” production is limited, with only three hatcheries in the country producing SPF fry. However, the government, in collaboration with the World Bank, is supporting several hatcheries and nurseries under a project initiated by the Department of Fisheries. The project aims to produce disease-free broodstocks, sterile post-larvae, and polychaete, with the ultimate goal of enhancing shrimp quality and production. It is to be noted that Niribili Hatchery has started the first commercial production of polychaete in Bangladesh.

Despite these positive initiatives, challenges remain. The smuggling of diseased Nauplii from neighboring India during the fishing ban period (May 20 to July 23) poses a significant threat to the industry. Furthermore, the absence of mandatory virus-free certificates for hatchery disease and the lack of proper implementation of the Fisheries Act-2010 contribute to the spread of disease among mother shrimp and fry in Bangladesh.

To ensure the production of disease-free shrimp fry, it is imperative to make virus-free certificates mandatory for all hatcheries producing SPF PLs. Additionally, measures must be taken to halt the smuggling of diseased Nauplii. The existing laws are in place, but their effective implementation is crucial to providing disease-free shrimp to farmers and significantly increasing shrimp production in the country.

Several hatcheries and nurseries are being supported under the ongoing project. The hatcheries and nurseries being supported are – FishTech Hatchery Limited, Golden Aqua Shrimp Hatchery Limited, MKA Hatchery, ARC Shrimp Hatchery, Bengal Bay Hatchery, Balaka Hatchery Limited, Borak Shrimp Hatchery Limited, Kazi SPF Nursing Point, Kapotakshma Shrimp Hatchery Limited, Masum Shrimp Hatchery Limited, Blue Star Hatchery & Nursery, Desh Bangla Hatchery SPF Hatchery, S Alam Nursing Point, Badhaban SPF Nursing Point and Chitra SPF Nursing Point.

However, some hatchery owners express concerns about the financial assistance provided under the project, as it falls short of the actual expenses required to meet the World Bank’s conditions.

In conclusion, while progress has been made in the development of SPF shrimp PL-producing hatcheries, the growth rate is not as expected due to various complexities. In order to advance the shrimp industry and prevent it from losing its potential, the government and stakeholders must work together in a cooperative manner. This will ensure the widespread adoption of disease-free shrimp fry, leading to a prosperous and promising future for this sector in Bangladesh.

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