Barisal Correspondent :A team of fishery directorate seized operating drives on Kirtankhola River recovered forty mounds Jatka on Friday.Wahiduzzaman, district fishery officer, said a mobile court led by administrative magistrate Qamruzzaman searching trawler, fishing boats and launches at Barisal port and surrounding areas seized forty mounds of ‘Jatka'(hilsa fry less than 10 inch or 26 centimeters in length).The seized Jatka distributed among the orphanages, madrashas, old-homes in the city and within a week more than 100 maunds Jatka recovered from the Kirtankhola River and Barisal port areas, district fishery officer said.The action was taken for violating eight-month country- wide ban enforced from November 1 to June 30 instead of November 1 to May 31 against netting, transportation and marketing ‘Jatka'(hilsa fry less than 10 inch or 26 centimeters in length ), said Wahiduzzaman, told.Israil Pandit, president Khudra Matsyajibi Saminity,alleged personals of law enforcing agencies, fishery department, administration often operating drives seizes not only fishes but also nets and took away a large portion of seized fishes to their houses harassing and depriving fishermen fighting for livelihood.Aminul Islam, deputy director and divisional fishery officer, denying the allegations said the restriction was imposed under ‘East Bengal Protection and Conservation of Fish Act’ was passed in 1950 and revised as ‘Fish Protection and Conservation Act (amended) ‘ in 1985.This act was revised on September 14 , 1985 and again on April 13 , 2013 extending the restriction period from November 1 to June 30 and revising the size of Jatka as 10-inch(26 centimeter), he added.Yearly around 1.5 crore mother hilsa safely and naturally laid 46,800 kg of eggs and if half of the laid eggs can become embryo, 29.93 crores of hilsa renu (pollen) will be made and if 10 percent of the pollen survives, 2.93 crore Jatka (fry) could be produced, said Bimal Chandra Das, fishery officer (Hilsa) of Barisal district fishery office.Hilsa fries develop 2-2.5 centimeters in length per month and started move towards sea after reaching 15-17 centimeters in length and starts return journey to sweet water rivers after becomes 25-28 centimeters in length with 300-450 grams weights for laying eggs, he added.If only 10-20 percent of the ‘Jatka’ can get the chance to reach maturity, then around 2 lakh tonnes of hilsa worth hundreds of cores of taka could be get extra every year, said Bankim Chandra Mandal, assistant director Barisal divisional fishery office.
