Twenty two-day Hilsa catch ban starts

The government ban on Hilsa fishing in 27 districts around Bangladesh took effect on Wednesday and will continue until Jul 27.

The catching, selling, transportation, storage and exchange of Hilsa fish is now banned across the country and will be particularly enforced in a 7,000 sq km area designated the breeding zone.

Fishermen on the Padma and Meghna rivers in Munshiganj, Chandpur, Laxmipur and Barisal are also forbidden from using fishing nets.

Hilsa fish move from coastal areas to the Padma and Meghna rivers to lay eggs around the first full moon of the Bangla calendar month of Ashwin, said Chandpur Fisheries Chief Science Official and Hilsa Specialist Md Anisur Rahman.

In the past few years the fishing ban has successfully sustained the Hilsa population, Rahman said.

Officials have been told that fishermen in 76 Upazilas will be compensated with 20 kilos of rice each by the relief and disaster management ministry.

The government has deployed the coast guard, naval police and other forces to ensure fishermen observe the ban.

Anyone found breaking the ban could face a fine between Tk 5,000 to 10,000, confiscating of fishing equipment and up to two years in prison, said Chandpur Fisheries official Md Safiqur Rahman.

Habu Chayal, a fisherman from the Katkhali area of Chandpur, said : “Last year fishermen observed the ban and this year we have been rewarded with a large catch of hilsha. Hopefully the same will happen now.”

According to an estimate of the fisheries department, the hilsha output of 385,000 tonnes in 2014-15 FY rose to more than 400,000 tonnes in 2015-16 FY.

 Hilsa had been out of reach for most people for the past five to seven years.

But tough government measures have ensured the fish is now available almost everywhere, Fisheries Minister Muhammed Sayedul Hoque told the media on Sunday.