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A 22-day ban on fishing ends in the south

Posted on by Josh L
A 22-day ban on fishing ends in the south





Star report

Sun, November 3, 2024, 10:14 PM Last updated: Sun, November 3, 2024, 10:31 PM

Due to the monsoons that revived Buriganga, some local residents went fishing in the river near Kamrangirchar yesterday. Locals say they are getting some fish after shifting tanneries to Savar from Hazaribagh. According to them, there were almost no fish in this part of the Buriganga due to the release of toxic waste into the reservoir by skinners. Photo: Palash Khan

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Due to the monsoons that revived Buriganga, some local residents went fishing in the river near Kamrangirchar yesterday. Locals say they are getting some fish after shifting tanneries to Savar from Hazaribagh. According to them, there were almost no fish in this part of the Buriganga due to the release of toxic waste into the reservoir by skinners. Photo: Palash Khan

The 22-day ban on hilsa fishing in rivers ended at midnight today, bringing relief to thousands of fishermen in the southern regions of the country who were living under great stress at that time.

Concerned officials of the Department of Fisheries stated that the initiative to introduce a ban on the spawning period of the branch has been successfully implemented.

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Visiting a fishing village in Shibpur union under Bhola Sadar upazila yesterday, our correspondent found fishermen busy preparing nets and boats for the river.

“At least 10,000 fishermen in the village were anxiously waiting for the ban to end so we could fish on the river. Finally tomorrow (today) is that day,” said Mokshed Majhi, a fisherman and villager.

A similar situation was observed in the Ghat Cox’s Bazar fishing area when fishermen were set to resume fishing soon after the ban was lifted.

About 50,000 fishermen in the district have braced themselves, said Mostaq Ahmad, organizing secretary of the Cox’s Bazar Fishing Vessel Owners Association.

“Before the ban, we didn’t catch much fish because of bad weather. Then, during Prohibition, we had no jobs and no money to stay afloat. State aid was not enough to feed our families, so we had to take out a lot of loans, we only hoped that better days would come,” he added.

“Bhola is the main migration route of the Hilsa to the rivers. We had a target of 1.85 lakh tonnes between July and September, but only 38,367 tonnes were caught during that time,” said Mohammad Anisuzzaman, Senior Assistant Director, Directorate of Fisheries, Barishal. .

He also said the fishing ban had been successful, with more raids and better monitoring than before.

According to sources in the Directorate of Fisheries, Barishal division, the migration of hilsa through the rivers was less, hence fewer eggs may have been released compared to previous years, but it will take a few more days to fully assess the situation.

A total of 3,19,830 tonnes of rice was distributed to 4.21 lakh registered fishermen in Barishal district during the ban period as assistance under the VGF programme.