Bangladesh has failed to exploit most resources in the Bay of Bengal 54 years after independence, with utilization reaching only 10 percent of potential according to oceanography experts. The country harvests just 700,000 tons of fish annually from waters that produce 8 million tons total, while valuable seabed minerals like zircon and monazite remain untouched due to inadequate technology and research capacity. Maritime boundary settlements with India and Myanmar in 2012 and 2014 gave Bangladesh sovereign rights over 118,813 square kilometers of territorial waters and a continental shelf extending 354 nautical miles from Chattogram.
The government has not conducted any marine resource surveys beyond 100 meters depth or drilled exploration wells in deep sea areas where India and Myanmar have already discovered gas deposits. A 2020 pilot project to acquire three longliner vessels for tuna fishing never materialized, allowing foreign fishermen to intrude and catch large quantities from Bangladesh waters. The Bangladesh Oceanographic Research Institute and Ministry of Power lack institutional capacity to extract 17 types of mineral sands and other non-living resources from the seabed.
The government has not conducted any marine resource surveys beyond 100 meters depth or drilled exploration wells in deep sea areas where India and Myanmar have already discovered gas deposits. A 2020 pilot project to acquire three longliner vessels for tuna fishing never materialized, allowing foreign fishermen to intrude and catch large quantities from Bangladesh waters. The Bangladesh Oceanographic Research Institute and Ministry of Power lack institutional capacity to extract 17 types of mineral sands and other non-living resources from the seabed.
