Two-month ban on hilsa fishing starts

A two-month fishing ban in five hilsa sanctuaries will take effect from midnight tonight, aiming to boost production and protect jatka, young hilsa less than 10 inches.

The restriction will cover 432 kilometres of riverine areas across six districts -- Barishal, Bhola, Patuakhali, Chandpur, Lakshmipur and Shariatpur, said Md Anisuzzaman, assistant director of the Divisional Fisheries Office in Barishal.

Under the VGF programme, 4,22,000 fishing families in Barishal division will receive 40kg of rice per month from February to May, amounting to a total of 160kg per family.

Barishal District Fisheries Officer Sanjib Sanyamat said 44,736 fishers in the district will receive 7,157 tonnes of VGF rice. “In the district, 83 kilometres of river in Sadar and Mehendiganj upazilas have been declared sanctuaries prohibiting fishing activities,” he added.

In Bhola, the ban will apply to 190 kilometres of the Meghna and Tetulia rivers for two months -- 90 kilometres of the Meghna River from Char Ilisha to Char Pial and 100 kilometres of the Tetulia River from Char Bheduria to Char Rustam -- affecting nearly 2,00,000 fishers across seven upazilas.

With Eid-ul-Fitr approaching, many fishers expressed concern over repaying NGO and cooperative loans during the ban. They demanded loan instalments be deferred, 100kg of rice per family, and inclusion of all registered fishers in the assistance programme.

“Almost every fisher here runs their household with loans from different cooperatives and NGOs. We are worried about how we will repay them during the ban,” said Alauddin Majhi, a fisher from Bhola Sadar.

Israel Pandit, president of the divisional fishers’ association, said, “We demand an increase in food assistance to 100kg and assurance of fishers receiving it.”