Huge amount of gas reserve in the Bay of Bengal would be sufficient for Bangladesh for next 100 years as the country’s current reserve will exhaust within 14 years, said experts in a seminar on Wednesday.
Beside gas reserve, abundant amount of precious minerals including monazite, zircon, rutile, calcium, carbonate, phosphorus, sulphate etc valuable minerals are expected to be found in an area of 3,100 square km in the Bay, the said.
To build a robust blue economy by utilising the resources of the sea, the researchers reckoned, the technology must be used in the grassroots level.
Scientists disclosed this information at the seminar on “Proper Utilisation of Blue Economy and the Challenges” organised by Bangladesh Ocean Resource Center in Cox’s Bazar’s Pechardwip recently.
The key article in the seminar was presented by the Chief Scientific Officer of Ocean Fish and Technology Center Shafiqur Rahman.
Shafiqur said Bangladesh utilises 30 nautical miles whereas it has the chance to use 200 nautical miles as Exclusive Economic Zonein the sea.
Although the commercial ships are not allowed to fish beneath 40 km, but they are seen flouting the fishing rules, he said adding that due to inexperience of fishing in the deep sea, the fishermen of our country only catch fish in the coastline.
Some fishermen from Sri Lanka have been brought to train the fishermen of Bangladesh so that they can catch fish in the deep sea, Shafiqur said.
Bangladesh spends millions of taka to import fish feed artemia but the local scientists discovered the technology of making artemia three decades ago, he said in the key note paper, adding that the local technology failed to attract the hatcheries of the grassroot.
“The seabed of Bay of Bengal is enriched with rare minerals like monazite, zircon, rutile, calcium, phosphorus and many other minerals,” he also said adding that 100 trillion of cubic feet of gas can be mined from the Bay and the reserve will be able to meet up our demand for 100 years.
The seminar, presided over by the Director General of Ocean Research Institute Shafiqur Rahman, was chaired by the Additional Secretary of Ministry of Science and Technology Rani Poddar.
In the seminar seven articles were presented about the research outcome of Bangladesh Ocean Research Institute in the fiscal year of 2019-20.
A paper on the physiology of the Bay of Bengal was jointly presented by the scientific officer of Physical and Space Oceanography Department Rupok Lodh and Shahinur Rahman.
Another collaborative paper on environment and climate was presented by Mir Kashim and Sultan Al Nahian — scientific officers of Environment and Oceanography Climate Department.
The seminar was attended among others by the scientific officer of Ocean research Institute of Chemical Oceanography Department Toriqul Islam, Scientific Officer of Oceanography Data Center Tania Islam, Deputy Director of Directorate of Environment Sheikh Nazmul Huda, fish specialist Polash Khondokar, manager of Eco-life Center Mohammad Abdul Qaiyum, industrialist Omar Hasan and journalist Ahmed Gias.
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