Staff Reporter :
Country’s five lakh fishermen are set to net hilsha from tomorrow (Thursday) after a 22-day ban on the catching of the delicious fish.
As the ban will go off tomorrow, a surge of excitement is now running high through the fishermen as well as their family members especially in the country’s coastal regions.
Before they get out on the sea and the rivers to start netting hilsha fish they have already prepared their boats and nets.
“With one day left before that date, the boats are ready to go. Like me most of the fishermen have already mended their nets, welded boats and checked engine. We are now very excited,” a fisherman in Manpura Upazila of Bhola district told journalists on Tuesday.
Apart from five lakh people, about 25 lakh are also indirectly involved in the catch of hilsha fish across the country.
Earlier the government imposed a ban on the catching of hilsha fishes from October 12 to November 2 on a vast area of 7000 square kilometers along with twenty-seven districts in the country for conservation of mother fishes during its high breeding season.
Apart from the hilsha breeding grounds, all the activities including procurement, marketing, buying, selling, transportation and hoarding of hilsha were stopped for 22 days across the country.
Sultan Mazhi, President, Bhola Matshya Samity said over 30,000 fishermen of the coastal district are eagerly waiting for the day.
“The mother hilsha have released huge quantity of eggs this year. It is expected that we will be able to net huge hilsha next year,” he said.
When contacted Narayon Chandra Chanda, State Minister for Fisheries and Livestock Minister, said the fishermen are now very happy, as they would be able to catch hilsha from Thursday.
“The 22-day ban on hilsha fishing during its breeding period will help raise the output of the delicious fish fry,” he said.
Replying to a query, he said the fisheries department, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, Police, River Police, RAB, BGB, District and Upazila administrations including the Fisheries and Livestock Ministry have already been asked to ensure security to fishermen.
It has been possible to conserve over 1.6 crores mother hilsha due to the 22 day ban which might have released over six lakh kilograms of eggs, he said.
If 50 percent of the eggs turn into spawns and only 10 percent of these spawns survive, he said, around 30,000 crore hilsha fry will get added to the country’s hilsha stock.
The contribution of hilsha to country’s total fish production is 11 percent, the highest as the single species. A total of 3.5 lakh tonnes of hilsha were caught last year and the number might exceed 4 lakh tonnes next year if the mother hilshas are saved during this spawning season.
During the 22-day period, a massive combined operation was carried out at all the fisheries ghats, warehouses, hat-bazars and chain-shops across the country.
However, defying the ban, some fishermen were involved in catching hilsha fish at midnight in the different rivers including Padma and Meghna to avert arrest.
During the mobile court operation across the country a large number of fishermen were arrested and their nets were seized.
