Bangladesh earned Taka 4,661 crore (46.61 billion) in fiscal year (FY) 2014-15 by exporting 83,524 tonnes of fish and fish products, Fisheries and Livestock Minister Mohammad Sayedul Haque told the Parliament on Sunday.
The Minister was replying to a question from Tariqat Federation member MA Awal (Lakkhipur-1).
Haque said the country exported 85.67 million tonnesof sea fish and shrimps worth $ 5,37,929 to different European countries, 45.66 million tonnes sea fish and shrimps worth $2,88,937 to the United States, 1,659.36 million tonnes sea fish and shrimps worth $1,58,05,431 to Japan and 4,867.35 tonnes sea fish and shrimps of $ 92,86,149 to other countries in the FY 2014-15
The Minister said said according to Fisheries Statistical Report of Bangladesh 2014-2015, the total amount of fish extracted from the sea in FY 2014-15 was 5,99,846 MT.
He said fishes like "Il Baim", Rupchanda, Vetki, Datina, Kattle, Tuna and different types of shrimp including Baghda, Harina and Chaka are extracted from sea. "Bangladesh exports products that are produced from those fishes to different countries of the world," he added.
The fisheries minister said the European Union countries like Belgium, the UK, the Netherlands, France and Germany, and the United States, Japan, China, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam import these products from Bangladesh.
Responding to a separate question from Jatiya Party lawmaker Noor-e-Hasna Lily Chowdhury (women seat-44), the minister said the total number of hatcheries in public and private sectors in the country is now 1,045.
"Of them, 907 in the private sector and 138 in the public sector," he said, adding those hatcheries produced a total of 541,448 MT fish eggs in 2015. Sayedul Haque also informed that 799.08 crore fingerlings are produced from that hatcheries last year.