Governance of the oceans and seas is a key challenge globally as they (oceans) are facing ecological risks that negatively affected the economic prospects of all coastal countries. However, Bangladesh is geographically blessed as the country located on the Bay of Bengal and it has made a significant progress in economic spectra, including blue economy (shipping, fishing, energy, minerals, seaports, tourism and marine resources) to generate huge income through proper utilization of the resources in the ocean, experts said. Potentials of blue economy in the Bay of Bengal, which is worth $25 trillion, remain largely untapped due to shortage of investments and absence of comprehensive research on marine resources, according to them. About 475 species of fish are being found in the Exclusive Economic Area of Bangladesh sea territory compared to 250 sweet water species on land, they added. The bordering countries to the Indian Ocean extracted resources worth only $2.5 trillion, whereas its value is worth $25 trillion, said Rear Admiral (Retd) Khurshed Alam, secretary to the maritime affairs unit of Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The amount of resources extracted by Bangladesh is worth only $9.6 billion, but its potential is much more, he said. Apart from research, there are some areas like shipping, but there is also not much investment from Bangladesh’s private sector. Bangladesh’s international trade is worth $80 billion, and 95 percent of it happens through shipping. It requires over 3,000 ships, and earning from carrying goods worth $5 billion. However, Bangladesh has only 46 ships, he said. Bangladesh has 668km of sea areas, but Our fishing trawlers can fish only up to 80km. We also don’t have many big trawlers for fishing in the deep sea, he added. We don’t see many entrepreneurs investing in the sea related businesses. Media needs to write more about the potentials of the sea, Khurshed Alam added. To boost up the economy, the Blue Economy Cell (BEC) under the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources was set up with the responsibility based on the national ocean policy and the institutional rationalization strategy. The government also formed a 25-member Coordination Committee on Sea Resources Exploration and Fair Management’ headed by Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister’s Office in 2014 for taking up strategic planning in blue economy, ministry sources said. To achieve this, the blue economy approach is founded upon the assessment and integration of the real value of the natural (blue) capital into all aspects of economic activity (conceptualization, planning, infrastructure development, trade, travel, renewable resource exploitation, energy production and consumption), according to them. Data shows that Bangladesh has 118,813 square kilometers of maritime area and more than 30 million people directly depend on oceanic economic activities like fisheries and commercial transportation. But it is still lagging behind to tap blue economy potentials due to lack of technology and efficient manpower. General Economics Division (GED) has determined 10 strategies and identified five challenges to explore the potentials of blue economy in an efficient way. Reportedly, the challenges identified in the plan include lack of investment and inadequate role of the private sector, lack of knowledge and determination of marine resources, maritime and coastal development structures, and related human resources. If the resources under water could be used then the scenario of the country will be changed. Even the sea bed could be used properly then by the year 2030, around 5 per cent of GDP would be earned from ocean economy, said Professor Dr. S M Emamul Huq, former chairman of Bangladesh Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR). Several reports made by the ministry of science and technology have inform that there are at least 13 spots in the Bay of Bengal which contains valuable sand, Uranium and Thorium, he said. Energy expert Professor Dr. M Tamim said that the government has a lack of interest in exploration of resources including oil, gas and fisheries in the Bay. I don’t know why the government could take any decision on multi-client seismic survey in offshore areas. Without acquiring seismic data, it’s impossible to make any assessment on our resources in the Bay of Bengal, he added. Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen said The blue economy offers opportunities in fishery, mineral resources, shipping and energy sectors. Bangladesh has the right to fish and explore resources within 118,813 square kilometers in the Bay of Bengal. We are releasing 8,000,000 tonnes of plastic in the oceans every year. The way we are going, there might be more plastic in the oceans than fish by 2050. At present, mechanized boats and industrial trawlers can catch fish up to 70 kilometres from the shoreline out of the total of 660 kilometres areas. The rest of the area remains untapped, he said, adding that steps have been taken to explore deep sea fishing, particularly of tuna. Not a single trawler has come till now, he added. About the offshore gas exploitation, State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid said that work started in four blocks in deep and sallow sea, under four Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs) with five foreign companies.