After a 22-consecutive-day fishing ban, hilsa is being netted in the rivers of the coastal region with the sale of hilsa in the markets also underway.
Fisheries officials and locals said the government's ban on jatka conservation has yielded benefits.
The government's 22-day ban on fishing of all species, including hilsa fish, ended on Friday (October 28) at midnight in an effort to increase breeding and production.
Buyers and sellers have expressed satisfaction at the arrival of hilsa after the ban. Meanwhile, the strict implementation of the ban will result in a record production as mother hilsa can release eggs freely, the fisheries department is expecting.
Officials said that due to increased rainfall due to Sitrang and reduced salinity of water along with heavy currents in the river, the mother Elisha hatched in the freshwater of the river. This will increase the production of hilsa.
Officials of Chattogram District Fisheries Office said that 20 kg of rice has been given to 17,500 registered fishermen families of Chattogram during the fishing ban. Operations have also been conducted in various markets to stop the sale of hilsa.
Leaders of the Boat Owners Association said that the fishing ghats and fishing villages remained silent for 22 days. The coastal fishing centers were closed. Thousands of fishmongers and laborers were unemployed for a long time. During this time the enlisted fishermen received food assistance. However, hundreds of thousands of fishermen outside the list have spent their days in hardship with their families without getting any government support.
But this time they are expecting that due to the ban and sufficient downpour they will be able to catch abundant hilsa through which they will get rid of their hardships.
According to the information sent by the correspondents of Chandpur and Barguna, the fishermen sailed for hilsa fishing on Friday midnight. But there is resentment among a section of fishermen here. Following the fishing ban they had stopped fishing but a class of unscrupulous fishermen indiscriminately hunted mother hilsa. As a result, they are afraid of not being able to find hilsa by going down to the river.
According to the Chandpur District Fisheries Officer Golam Mehedi, more than 50,000 fishermen went fishing as the fishing ban was lifted.
