Situation Bangladesh is a developing country of 124 million people.
Fisheries play a major role in nutrition, employment and foreign exchange earning in Bangladesh.
About 60 percent of animal protein is supplied by seafood and 1.2 million people are directly employed, with an additional 11 million people indirectly employed, in fisheries. Frozen shrimp and fish is the fourth leading export item at 7.3 percent of the total in 1997. Bangladesh frozen shrimp and prawns exports represent 2.2 to 3.0 percent of the volume and 2.1 to 2.7 percent of the value of the world's frozen shrimp and prawns exports. The value per kilogram received by Bangladesh frozen shrimp exporters has recently been from seven to 16 percent lower than values received by other shrimp producing countries in Asia. Bangladesh has a reputation for producing seafood that sometimes does not meet the required standards of safety and quality.