BSS, Rajshahi :
A team of the river police arrested a fisherman and seized 1.5 lakh meters of fishing net worth about Taka 45 lakh from different areas in the Padma river under Charghat upazila of the district in the past four days.
The police team accompanied by other officials concerned including Upazila Fisheries Officer Ariful Islam conducted frequent raids in different areas and seized the huge quantity of nets.
The team also seized five kilograms of brood Hilsa fishes and arrested a fisherman during the drives. However, other fishermen fled away leaving behind their nets.
“The fishermen were catching fish using the current nets, which are banned for fishing,” Ariful Islam said, adding that all the law-violators will be brought to book as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, the arrested fisherman was fined Taka 5,000 and the seized nets were destroyed instantly. The seized fishes were distributed among the inmates of a nearby orphanage.
A 22-day ban on catching, selling, hoarding and transporting of Hilsa came into effect from October 14 to protect the fish with eggs. The ban will be effective until November 4. This is the peak period when the mother Hilsa release eggs. Islam said Hilsa has the highest contribution in the country’s fish production.
