Hilsa catching on amid ban

A game of cat and mouse was going on on the Padma yesterday between law enforcers led by the magistrates and fishermen of several upazilas of Munshiganj and Shariatpur.

Fishermen in their thousands were seen on boats in the river. They were using their relatively smaller current nets to catch hilsa amid a 22-day ban enforced to protect spawning of the national fish.

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Although the fishing restrictions would be over within three more days, the fishermen apparently had enough of the ban. Some of them said their back was against the wall as they had no savings or alternative means to feed their families.

A number of locals, however, said it had mostly to do with greed, as there was high demand for hilsa and a section of unscrupulous traders were just cashing in on the opportunity.

This frenzy of illegal fishing was seen on the Padma along the areas adjacent to Jajira, Shibchar and Sadar upazilas of Shariatpur. It was almost the same in the Meghna in Louhajang, Sreenagar, Tongibari and Gajaria upazilas of Munshiganj.

This correspondent, on the way to observe catching of Pangas fish on the Padma, witnessed this illegal fishing of hilsa.

SM Shaheen, assistant commissioner (land) of Louhajang as well as executive magistrate of a mobile court, was seen near Shimulia Ferry Terminal on the Padma. He was conducting a drive along with Mohammad Idris, district senior fisheries officer, and members of law enforcement agencies.

Seeing the magistrate from a distance, the fishermen warned each other and started moving away discarding their nets tied to small buoys. As soon as the magistrate's speed boat was gone, they became busy retrieving their nets.

Asked why they were risking arrest and losing the valuable nets, some worth around Tk 1 lakh each, a few of the fishermen said they had been unable to make ends meet as hilsa had not been available in the Padma for the last three months.

Moreover, the government did not give any compensation to over 10,000 hilsa fishermen in Munshiganj. 

Under the circumstances, they had no choice but to risk everything for their survival. As selling of hilsa is prohibited during this period, they sell it at a low price by going door to door in villages.

Wishing to remain anonymous, a fisherman said he had eight mouths to feed.

Magistrate Shaheen said 13 fishermen were apprehended during his drive that day and six of them were sent to jail for a week each. The rest were fined Tk 5,000 each.

Mohammad Khalequzzaman, Louhajang upazila nirbahi officer, said until yesterday, 17 mobile courts conducted drives to enforce the ban on catching hilsa.

During this time, 87 fishermen were detained and 27 of them were given jail sentences on different terms for violating the ban. Sixty-five others were fined, he said, adding that they also confiscated and destroyed around two lakh metres of current net.

He admitted that there has been no allocation of government food relief for the fishermen and their families in the upazila.

Shaila Farzana, deputy commissioner of Munshiganj, said she already wrote to the higher authorities, requesting allocation of food relief for the fishermen in the region.