SANGSAD BHABAN, Feb 25, 2019 (BSS) – State Minister for Fisheries and
Livestock Ashraf Ali Khan Khosru today said the country has created a
tremendous scope of increasing the hilsha production in future through
developing the resource of the fish as the country has already developed the
genome sequence of the popular hilsha.
“The genome sequence will give out a holistic understanding of hilsha’s
biology ….which consequently will be helpful in increasing its production as
well as will ensure the conservation of the breed,” said the state minister
while responding to a starred question placed by treasury bench lawmaker Ashim
Kumar Ukil of Netrokona-3 in the Jatiya Sangsad with Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin
Chaudhury in the chair.
Genome sequence will help know the complete biology of the hilsha fish
variety, he said, saying that the invention will make easier conservation of
the breed, identifying the breeding ground and make the information available
about its migration.
A group of researchers led by Professor Dr Shamsul Alam of Bangladesh
Agriculture University (BAU) and another research team led by Professor Hasina
Khan of Dhaka University have mapped the genome sequence of the popular hilsa
fish, said the state minister in the JS.
About 75 per cent of the world’s hilsa fish comes from Bangladesh. The
country’s total fish production, however, is much more than that. Hilsa just
accounts for 10 per cent of the total fish output in the country.
Bangladesh produces close to 3,87,000 tonnes of hilsa fish per year. The total
revenue generated from the fish adds up to Tk 158.7 billion. Hilsa production
composes nearly 1 per cent of Bangladesh’s GDP.