The non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the people of the haor areas in Kishoreganj claimed that proper maintenance, monitoring and sanctuaries need to be increased in order to ensure the production of fish in the haor.
The living standards of the Haor people will be improved if the production of fishes is increased. Fish from this region can be exported after meeting the country’s demand.
Sources said, “Water bodies have to be leased to the real fishermen for the development of fisheries. However, a class of unscrupulous people using fake names in the Fisheries Cooperative Societies to enjoy the benefits from the lease. They become the owner of water bodies. Real fishermen are often deprived due to such misdeeds.”
The haor consist of 64,306.10 hectares of land. About 22,094.53 metric tonnes of fish is produced from the area annually. Lots of snails and oysters are produced as well.
There are 96 haors in 13 upazilas of Itna, Ashtagram, Mithamoin, Bhairab, Bajitpur, Kuliarchar, Katiadi, Nikli, Kishoreganj Sadar, Pakundia, Hossainpur, Karimganj and Tarail.
According to the sources of the Kishoreganj Fisheries Office, natural calamities or lack of rain put a negative impact while releasing of the fish eggs.
Rui, Katla, Mrigel, Kalbaus, Sherputi fishes have been allowed to be released. There are 19 bill nurseries currently in the process. Fish will be reared for one to one and half months and then released into those nurseries. The fishermen are being trained in this regard.
If fishing can be halted every year for three months from the Bengali month Baishakh to Ashar, the breeding of fish will be increased. The rules are hardly followed in haor areas.
Fish farmer Taqdir Ahmed Pavel said, “Kishoreganj is a place with mixed tides. Naturally, fish production is high here. However, the production is much higher if the fish is farmed. If the authorities concerned give us a little more leeway, more fish farmers like us will be benefitted.”
Khairul Islam, general secretary of Agrajatra Fishermen's Cooperative Association Ltd, recipient of the PM’s Medal for Fisheries Production in 2016, said that a large number of sanctuaries are needed to protect the fish resources.
He said that there are 11 sanctuaries in Kishoreganj. If a lot of sanctuaries are set up, the endangered fishes will grow in large number. Although Kishoreganj is one of the highest fish producing regions in the country, there is no lab for fish treatment here.
He also said that many fishermen catch mother fishes with eggs. This needs to be stopped immediately.
District Fisheries Officer Ripon Kumar Pal said, “I am implementing the Fisheries Act to increase the production of natural fishes. It is important to set up a sanctuary and going through various trainings to raise awareness. We make sure that water bodies are going to the real registered fishermen.”
Deputy Commissioner of Kishoreganj Mohammad Shamim Alam said that the district administration does not have the opportunity to work separately. There is a Haor Wetland Development Board and they are responsible for this.
When asked whether the registered fishermen are getting the water bodies’ lease, the deputy commissioner said that 100 percent real fishermen are getting the lease of the water bodies. There is no scope for any irregularity in the policy of the government regarding leasing of the water bodies.