A workshop titled “WorldFish Carp Genetic Improvement Program” was organized at the Bangabandhu International Conference Center in Dhaka, funded by USAID under the Feed the Future Bangladesh Aquaculture and Nutrition project and coordinated by WorldFish. According to a press release, Christopher Price, the Regional Director of WorldFish South Asia Region, delivered the opening remarks on May 9.
KH Mahbubul Haque, the Director General of Bangladesh Fisheries, attended the workshop as the chief guest. The event attracted various prominent individuals and both private and public stakeholders involved in carp production and research. On behalf of the Department of Fisheries (DoF), KH Mahbubul Haque officially received the rapidly-growing WorldFish Generation Three (G3) Rohu.
In 2012, WorldFish implemented the Carp Genetic Improvement Program (CGIP), which involved collecting juvenile Rohu, Catla, and Silver Carp fish and their spawns from three rivers in Bangladesh—Padma, Jamuna, and Halda. The G3 Rohu strains were then cultivated in 19 hatcheries for an on-farm trial in 2022. The trial demonstrated that the G3 Rohu weighed 37% more than conventional varieties.
During the workshop, Mohammad Yeasin, the Dissemination Manager of WorldFish, expressed, “The adoption of the G3 Rohu brood by the Bangladesh Fisheries Department will accelerate the dissemination of this improved breed of Rohu throughout the entire country.”
