In the last nine years, the production of national fish Hilsa has risen by 66 per cent. Ministry of fisheries and water resources say that in 2008-09, the production of Hilsa was 2 lakh 98 thousand metric tonnes, which has gone up to around 5 lakh metric tonnes with a market price of Tk. 25 thousand crore.
According to information, 2017-18 saw Hilsa production exceed the target by 84 thousand metric tonnes.
Ministry of fisheries say that around 31 per cent people in the country are linked to the fisheries sector and Hilsa contributes more than 1.15 per cent to the country’s GDP.
Specialists feel that this has been possible due to multifaceted initiatives of the government. Fisheries and water resources minister, Narayan Chandra Chanda, told Bangla Tribune: “Bangladesh produces 70 to 75 per cent Hilsa of the world; in 2018, the production of Hilsa will exceed 5 lakh metric tonnes and overall fish production will rise to 42 lakh 77 thousand tonnes.”
In the 2016-17 fiscal, Bangladesh exported 68305.68 tonnes of fish and fish based products, earning Tk. 4287.64 crore. This was Tk. 3243.41 crore in 2008-09.