11-day Hilsa fishing ban starts

Dhaka, Oct 6 (bdnews24.com) — The 11-day ban on catching Hilsa fish, in line with a Sep 27 government order, has started off across Bangladesh to boost Hilsa fish production.

The ban starts off today, Thursday, and will continue until Oct 16, a period marked as the main breeding season by the fisheries ministry.

All sorts of transport, sale and stock of Hilsa and Jatka have also been prohibited during the period. The programme also aims to protect and conserve Jatka – hilsa fry less than 23 centimetres in length.

It was warned that offenders would be jailed, through mobile courts, for one to six months and be liable to pay a minimum fine of Tk 1000. In cases where the offender has violated the ban again after being convicted, the punishment would be double for the next offence.

"The government has taken various steps to boost Hilsa production to meet Bangladesh's demand as well as hike income through exports. As a part of the programme the ban has been imposed during the main breeding season, according to the fisheries conservation act," fisheries and livestock minister Abdul Latif Biswas told bdnews24.com on Thursday.

"If Hilsa is not caught during the breeding season, production would be boosted which will contribute greatly in meeting Bangladesh's protein demands. At the same time, exporting the excess Hilsa after meeting Bangladesh's demand will boost export income," the minister added.

A production target of 0.36 million metric tonnes has been set for this fishing season. In the last fiscal, Hilsa production reached 0.34 million metric tonnes. The export income from this sector between July to Sep 19 this year was Tk 1 billion. Fisheries ministry officials are expecting the amount to exceed Tk 5 billion by the end of the season.

Officials added that mobile courts, led by executive magistrates, will conduct drives in the rivers and bazaars of Bhola, Patuakhali, Lakkhipur, Noakhali, Feni, Chittagong and Cox's Bazar districts to ensure a congenial breeding environment for the Hilsa fish.

Jatka preservation project director Jahid Habib said, "7,000 square kilometres of 21 Upazilas of seven coastal districts has been marked as the key breeding grounds of Hilsa fish."

"Four points have been marked in this area as the key fishing grounds, including Shaherkhali-Haitkandi point in Chittagong in the north-east, Uttar Kutubdia-Gondamara point in Cox's Bazaar in the south-west, Uttar Tazumuddin-Pashchim Syed Awalia point in Bhola in the north-west, and Latachapli point of Kalaparha Upazila in Patuakhali in the south-west," he added.

Earlier, in line with the fisheries law of 1985, the ban was imposed from Oct 14-24 every year. However, according to the lunar calendar, the new moon did not occur during this period. And since the main breeding season was dependent on the moon, a result of which large hauls of Hilsa were caught before breeding despite the ban, hampering Hilsa production.

The ministry moved to amend the clause in the law recently and has formulated a draft law. It has also taken the opinions of the law ministry and the ban was implemented this year in line with the draft law.

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