Fishing with current nets rampant in Hakaluki Haor

Massive use of current nets continues unabated in Moulvibazar's Hakaluki Haor during the ongoing water recession season, contributing to the depletion of a variety of local fish species living in the swamp.

The callous act in defiance of a government restriction causes decline in fish production as a plenty of mother fish and fry are getting caught in the nets, local fisheries officials said.

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It eventually leads to extinction of different fish species in the haor covering 181.15 square km area, they said.

Hakaluki is a natural breeding ground of as many as 110 species of sweet water fish, fisheries officials said, adding that 39 species had already become extinct.

As a measure to discourage the illegal fishing in the ecologically critical area during the breeding season, Kulaura, Baralekha, Rajnagar, Juri upazila authorities earlier served notices asking the fishermen to hand over their nets to the upazila offices, but to no effect, officials added.

After the notice deadline ended, the fisheries office in Kulaura upazila seized more than 1 lakh metres of nets from Kangli, Guborkuri and Loribay under Hakaluki Haor area last month.

In Kulaura, upazila officials and police seized 500 cubits of nets with fish fry of different species from Kuri water body area under Hakaluki Haor in Kulaura upazila on Saturday, said Kulaura UNO Md Najmul Hasan, also team leader of the raid team.

Conducting a massive raid on October 22 last year, upazila officials and police also seized 50 thousand metres of nets with fish fry of different species from the haor areas of Juri and Kulaura upazilas, he said.

Locals said the illegal netting of fish fry is rampant in all upazilas of the district.

Fishermen, however, said they are catching fish defying the ban as they had no alternative.

Sultan Mahmud, fisheries officer of Kulaura upazila, said the government had initiated a project to provide the fishermen with ration during the season.

"We will start registering the real fishermen for the purpose in September this year," he added.

Nipendra Chandra Das, deputy director of the fisheries office in Moulvibazar district, said the measure was taken to discourage the illegal netting of fishes in the ecologically important area.