Staff Reporter :
Hilsa catching will resume tomorrow (Monday) after the 22-day ban on netting this delicious fish will end on the day.
Officials at the Department of Fisheries said, thousands of fishermen of the coastal districts are taking preparation to go to the Bay of Bengal to catch hilsa after the long pause.
The government imposed a ban on catching, selling, hoarding and transportation of hilsa in the Bay of Bengal and different rivers for 22 days from October 7 to boost Hilsa production through protection of the mother fish during its peak breeding season.
Officials at the Fisheries Department, Bangladesh Navy, Coast Guard, Air Force, District and Upazila administrations, police and Rapid Action Battalion conducted drives to prevent hilsa fishing during the period. Executive Magistrates conducted mobile courts and punished a number of fishermen who violated the ban.
The officials said, the fishermen are preparing their trawlers, fuels and fishing nets to go to the Bay of Bengal to catch hilsa.
The fishermen are bringing their trawlers to rivers from the dockyard. They are also preparing their daily essentials to load those in the trawlers as they have to pass days in the deep sea during the fishing season, they said.
Local fishermen alleged that the Indian fishermen had entered Bangladesh Water Territories illegally to catch hilsa during the ban period. They strongly condemned this and sought government step to stop the Indian fishermen’s entering the Bangladesh territory.
