(01) By Ordinance No. XLV of 1984, entitled “The Fisheries Research Institute Ordinance, 1984”, the President of the People's Republic of Bangladesh created the Fisheries Research Institute on 11 July, 1984.
(02) Before establishment of the Fisheries Research Institute (FRI) investigations relating to fish capture and fish culture were carried out in a non-coordinated way under the Directorate of Fisheries (DOF), mostly in the context of (regional) development projects. Furthermore, fisheries studies are undertaken by the universities in Chittagong, Dhaka, Mymensingh, and Rajshahi, and by the Institute of Food Science and Technology of the Bangladesh Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR) in Dhaka. The BCSIR studies are strictly directed towards processing technology (with industry as the major client); a large part of the other research is farmer- or fishermen-oriented and based on trial-and-error experiments. Research directed towards resource management (marine, riverine, and large freshwater bodies) is still at the level of basic data collection.
(03) The mandate of FRI is to assist in the relevant objectives of the national Third Five Year Plan for development, viz. increase of fish production for domestic consumption and for export purposes, and creation of more and better jobs. These objectives are to be accomplished by FRI through concentration of combined research efforts to achieve: (on the one hand) solutions of problems that restrain growth and development of the fisheries sector in Bangladesh, and (on the other hand) introduction of new production opportunities through development of new technologies, new products, and through integration of fisheries with other agricultural production systems.
(04) FRI will fullfil its mandate by:
