Despite being quite a small country, in terms of landmass, Bangladesh has an extremely large population. In fact, it is the world’s tenth most densely populated country. Consequently, sustaining such a large population with little arable land and natural resources has been a concern for policymakers for a very long time.
But our nation has been blessed with a wealth of marine resources, the proper utilisation of which, can be a crucial factor for sustainable and continued development.
Bangladesh is bestowed with a coastal area of 2.30 million hectares and a coastline of 720 km along the Bay of Bengal. Unsurprisingly, one-fourth of its total population, around 35 million, lives along the coast line, relying both directly and indirectly on the sea for their livelihoods.
After resolving the maritime border disputes with India and Myanmar, Bangladesh now owns 2,07,000 square kilometers of sea, which is 1.4 times bigger than our total land area. An exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of 166,000 square kilometers is also included within this boundary, where Bangladesh can exploit natural resources at its will.
The Bangladesh government has repeatedly professed its ambition to establish a “blue economy”, expanding the nation’s economic potential. A crucial part of this new horizon is going to be marine fishing and aquaculture.
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https://www.tbsnews.net/thoughts/bangladesh-desperately-needs-comprehensive-maritime-law-355093