THE Bangladesh Marine Fisheries Association (BMFA) and the Marine White Fish Trawler Owners Association (MWFTOA) have demanded amendments to the newly enacted Marine Fisheries Act-2020, claiming that it has created panic amongst the fishing trawlers’ captains, crews, fishermen and traders.
Due to the strictness of the new law, all concerned, including skippers, engineers, sailors, officials and all the stakeholders working in marine fish trawlers stopped fishing in the Bay of Bengal on December 5 and they have returned to the port.
The government repealed the Marine Fisheries Ordinance 1983 and enacted the Marine Fisheries Act 2020 in the Parliament on November 16 this year.
Reflecting the demands of the time, the new law is unrealistic and conflicting, and against the fundamental rights of the people. During enactment of this law, no discussion or opinion was taken from the relevant stakeholders of different classes and professions. Rather than being conducive to business, the act poses a severe threat for them, said leaders of both the organisations at separate briefings in Chattogram.
According to a news report, the law contains a provision that has empowered the authorities to impose fines ranging between Tk 8 lakh and Tk 25 lakh in the event of a violation of any of the fishing rules, which the two organisations have been opposing and demanding its amendment. As a result, a chaotic situation has arisen. The associations regulate fishing in the deep-sea and control some 258 large fishing trawlers.
There are allegations that the provisions of the new law have been laid down in such a way as to facilitate the officers in duty to take speed money and resort to dishonest means. The law also provides for severe punishment for minor offenses. Also many clauses conflict with the country’s customary criminal laws. For the most part, the subsections are not business-friendly for the fishing traders but a conspiracy to destroy them.
It is to be noted that Bangladesh began conducting research on oceans only after settlement of maritime disputes with India and Myanmar in 2012. The country has won a total of 118,113-km maritime boundary, but our fishing trawlers can fish only up to 80 km for not having sufficient big trawlers to fish in deep sea.
Since fisheries play a pivotal role in alleviating protein efficiency and malnutrition, in generating employment and foreign exchange earnings, the concerned authorities must take immediate step to resolve the ongoing stalemate in the deep-sea fishing for the interest of the country’s blue economy.
