'WorldFish G3 Rohu' handed over to the Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute 

WorldFish G3 Rohu was officially handed over to the Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute at a workshop held on 8 August 2023 in Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute, Mymensingh. On behalf of Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute, Dr. Yahia Mahmud, the director general of the institute, received a bag of WorldFish G3 rohu fingerlings from Dr. John Benzie, the acting director of WorldFish Aquatic Food Biosciences. 

Mr. Kh. Mahbubul Haque, the director general of the Department of Fisheries, and the Chief Guest of the workshop, said ''The Government of Bangladesh has a target to produce 8.6 million tons of fish per year by 2041. It is clear that much of this targeted production must come from aquaculture. So we will have to increase productivity as we do not have much opportunity to increase aquaculture. I believe the WorldFish-developed G3 Rohu and the BFRI Subarna Rohu will play a significant role in increasing aquaculture production in the coming years.'' 

The workshop was chaired by Dr. Yahia Mahmud, the director general of the Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute. In his concluding remarks, Dr. Yahia Mahmud said, ''Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute has been working on stock improvement of various indigenous fish species. You are aware that we have developed an improved strain of rohu, called 'Subarna Rohu'. I believe that both WorldFish G3 Rohu and Subarna Rohu will play a positive role in further development of the country's aquaculture sector.''   

WorldFish G3 Rohu is the product of a decade of research and development in Bangladesh by WorldFish and its collaborators. WorldFish initiated the Rohu Genetic Improvement Program in 2012 with the collection of spawn from the Halda, Padma, and Jamuna rivers. In 2020-2021, the program developed the third-generation rohu, after three generations of selection. The WorldFish G3 rohu was found to grow 37% more than a conventional rohu strain in a field trial conducted in Jahsore and Natore-Rajshahi regions in 2021-2022. 

Dr. Benoy Kumar Barman, WorldFish senior scientist, said ''I believe the handover of G3 rohu to Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute through this workshop has widened the opportunity to create more collaborations on further research in fisheries and aquaculture sector.'' 

The workshop was jointly organised by the Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute and WorldFish Dr. M. Gulam Hussain, the asia regional coordinator of Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Fish, Dr. Matthew Hamilton, WorldFish senior scientist, and around 100 other scientists from the Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute, Department of Fisheries, Bangladesh Agricultural University, and other organisations were present in the workshop. 

The workshop was funded by USAID through the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Fish. The Carp Genetic Improvement Program has been supported by USAID through the Feed the Future Bangladesh Aquaculture Activity and other donors including Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, European Commission, International Fund for Agricultural Development, and CGIAR.