RESOURCE MANAGEMENT OF BANGLADESH EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE (EEZ) – A CASE STUDY OF PELAGIC RESOURCES

Abstract

The United Nations Convention on the Laws of the Sea (UNCLOS) has given the coastal states the exclusive right to explore and exploit all its resources within the agreed 200 miles zone of adjacent sea area. The Bay of Bengal has a great potentiality of enormous pelagic resources. According ro various estimates and survey including studies by United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the total estimated annual sustainable yield from the shore to the outer limit of EEZ area of Bangladesh is about 3,89,000 metric tons of pelagic fish and shrimp. Out of the availability, about 1,18,000 metric tons of fish and shrimp are being harvested annually. The remaining 2,71,000 metric tons of fish and shrimp are being lost due to natural mortality, unauthorized exploitation, unplanned fishing, absence of continuous monitoring, ineffective management, and non-implementation of the Marine Fishery Ordinance etc. At present, Bangladesh has no potent mechanism or management policy to exploit these prospective untapped resources. This paper attempts to access the potentiality of the pelagic fisheries resources in the EEZ claimed by Bangladesh and examines how Bangladesh can ensure effective management and utilization of these resources particularly the Tuna and Tuna like fish to safeguard the viral economic interest of the nation.