Despite the fact that Bangladesh has huge economic prospects in its sea territory, the country is way behind in exploring its maritime potentials. According to a report published in this newspaper yesterday, experts in the field calculated that Bangladesh can earn USD 1 billion a year from the sea. For a country that is aspiring to become a middle income nation with a few years and a developed nation by 2040, this indeed is a good piece of news.

At a seminar on “Bangladesh Blue Economy Dialogue on Fisheries and Mariculture” in the capital the state minister of fisheries and livestock Ashraf Ali Khan Khasru himself admitted that “very little” of the country’s sea potentials had been utilized so far. He was right in saying that Bangladesh needs improvements in science, technology and innovation to explore all the possibilities.

But now the question is what particular steps are being taken by his ministry or other relevant government entities in this regard. Bangladesh’s area of the sea was settled long ago, first with Myanmar in 2012 followed by sea area dispute with India in 2014. But all these years have elapsed without taking any serious measure to harness the sea potentials.

But for encouraging pace of economic development, harnessing the marine resources can be crucial. Some time ago we heard that Bangladesh procured a high-tech 37.8-meter long multipurpose research vessel to survey the marine resources from Malaysia. We were told that equipped with the latest technology for fisheries and other oceanographic research, this vessel could play a role in managing marine resources and improving the lifestyle of around 5 lakh people living in coastal areas who depend on fishing.

Bangladesh possesses 118,813 square kilometers of waters comprising territorial sea, exclusive economic zone extending out to 200 NM across sizable area. The country has also achieved undeniable sovereign rights in the seabed extending as far as 354 NM from Chittagong coast in the Bay of Bengal with all the living and non-living resources. Indeed, if these huge resources can be properly utilised, Bangladesh economy can get the required thrust to soon become a middle income nation within a short time.

To get the maximum benefit from our seabed, it is necessary to develop our own professional manpower and build up enough technological bases to explore the sea on our own in future.