Fisheries sector generates annual revenue of K6 bln

Myanmar received annual revenue of K6 billion generated by the fisheries export in the past 2020-2021 financial year, according to a coordination meeting on the development of the fisheries sector, held at the meeting hall of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation on 22 December.
Union Minister U Tin Htut Oo of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation addressed the meeting to conduct effective research for water resource management, strengthen public-private partnership in research methodology, carry out research on freshwater and saltwater fish and shrimp species which have high potentials to bolster hatch rate of the resident fish species, implement sustainable hatcheries, make efforts to establish Fisheries University for genetic technologies, extend vocation courses for fisheries industry, develop human resource capacity, lay down policies, collect data, combatting corruption during inspection of food safety standards, food safety and adhere to the code of conduct and ethical standards.
Afterwards, Deputy Minister Dr Aung Gyi stressed project procedures of the Fisheries Department in each financial year and capacity-building of the government employees.
After that U Wai Lin Maung, Director-General of the Fisheries Department explained the completed projects and upcoming projects in each financial year. The respective heads of the fisheries departments in the regions and states also discussed project completion and future matters.
The fisheries sector is of vital importance for food security, food safety, nutrition and job creation.
The sector contributes to 4.7 per cent of GDP in the 2019-2020 financial year. The aquaculture export topped over US$786 million in the 2020-2021FY, which indicated a daily income of US$2 million generated by this sector.
The Fisheries Department is striving for sustainable development in the fisheries sector, formulation of laws regarding aquaculture sustainability to the benefits of the current and future generations and aquaculture conservation, supporting private sectors to enhance exports in compliance with the ASEAN agreements and international guidelines, importation of Genetically Improved Farmed Tilapia-GIFT (Tilapia) species and distribution to the hatcheries, potential freshwater fish hatchery on a trial run and improving hatch rate and growth rate.
The department has successfully produced 21 commercially important fish species at the hatcheries, which contributes to domestic fish security and export promotion. — MNA