The fish and fisheries are integral part of the culture and heritage of Bangladesh. The sector plays a significant role in nutrition, employment generation and foreign exchange earnings. The need for a strong institutional research support to achieve the desired national goal of sustainable increased production and development of fisheries was first highlighted in the National Seminar on Fisheries Research, organized by Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC) in September 1982, in close collaboration with the Life Science Departments of Agricultural and General Universities and the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA), Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR), FAO, and other agencies operating in fisheries research and development activities. One of the four recommendations adopted in the workshop was to establish a national institute for fisheries research. The recommendation for establishing a national fisheries research institute was also strongly supported by the Expert Team constituted by the Ministry of Agriculture and by the World Bank Appraisal Mission for its Agricultural Research Project (Phase IV, IDA Phase II). In implementation of this recommendation, Fisheries Research Institute (FRI) was established in 1984 under an ordinance (Ordinance No. XLV of 1984) promulgated by the President of the Peoples' Republic of Bangladesh, which was subsequently renamed as Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute by an Act (Act 10 of 1996).

Though the Institute was established in 1984, it actually started functioning in 1986 with the recruitment of required manpower and creation of initial research facilities. Since then, the institute has been playing a key role in assisting the nation to achieve the goal of fisheries development as set out in successive development plans.

Management of the BFRI

BFRI is an autonomous research organization and linked up administratively with the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock (MoFL), Government of the Peoples' Republic of Bangladesh. The general direction, administration and supervision of the affairs of the institute is vested in the Board of Governors consisting as follows:

Board of Governors

The Board of Governors may exercises all powers and doing all acts and things that may be performed or done by the institute. The Board may appoint such committees, as it may consider necessary to assist it in the performance of its functions. As the Chief Executive of the Institute, the Director General takes appropriate steps in implementing its programs in the light of policies and directives formulated by the Board of Governors.

Working Linkage

The overall research, training and management activities of the Institute are carried out in close cooperation and linkages with various national and international organizations/agencies. The Institute also keeps close contact with public extension organizations, different NGOs working in the country, for dissemination of technologies and obtaining feed-back from them. BFRI has collaborates with national Universities and maintains close liaison for fisheries research and development (R & D). Among the various international linkages of BFRI, the World Bank (WB), International Development Agency (IDA), IFAD, WorldFish Center, ACIAR/CSIRO, NACA, DFID, University of Stirling, are important.

Among the national collaborators, definitely the main focus implies to the Department of Fisheries (DOF) followed by Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI), Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) and have close cooperation, linkages and joint research and development programmes with the NOGs' like PROSIKA, BRAC, CARE, Bachte Shikha, Jagoroni Chokra etc.

The BFRI has singed MOU with Bangladesh Academy Rural Development (BARD), Bangladesh Agricultural University Extension Centre (BAUEC) for collaborative research and training programs. The national Universities including Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU) are linked with BFRI through contract research programs and exchange of expertise and training.