After 65 consecutive days of ban, the fishermen of Patuakhali Kuakata coast have completed their preparations to go fishing in the deep sea. The 65-day ban announced by the government ends on July 22 at 12 pm. The coastal fishermen are waiting after completing all preparations for fishing in the sea including repairing trawlers, making new nets and sewing old nets.
It has been found that the Bay of Bengal adjacent to Kuakata is a treasure for fishing. In order to properly preserve this treasure and increase the fish, the government and the fisheries department have imposed a ban on all types of fishing in the deep or shallow sea for 65 days from May 20 to July 23.
The Bay of Bengal adjacent to Kuakata is home to millions of coastal fishermen. The demand for protein of the country has been met by fishing different species of fish at different points of the deep or shallow Bay of Bengal in the pursuit of their livelihood.
Fisherman Rafiq Majhi of Alipur fishing port said, “We have observed the 65-day ban announced by the government. We have already completed all preparations for hilsa fishing. As the ban is over, we are going to go fishing in the ocean today.”
Talking to several fishermen of Mahipur fishing port, it is known that the fishermen of the coast were in debt because they did not get fish during the hilsa season last year. Still, they refrained from fishing out of respect for the government’s laws. At the end of the ban, they believed that they would be able to pay their debt if they caught a flock of hilsa in the sea.”
Russell, the owner of Russell Fish in Kuakata, said, “For the past three years, I have only been counting losses and not seeing the face of profit. It seems it’s high time to leave this profession. I will see this year too. If there is no improvement, I will quit my business next year.”
The general secretary of Kuakata Ashar Alo Purnabasan Matsyajeevi Jale Sambay Samity Ltd. Md. Jamal Molla said that if the fishermen of the neighboring countries had fished in the waters of Bangladesh during the blockade, a lot of hilsa would have been caught in their net.
This time, due to the high activity of the administration, fishing was completely stopped across the coast, but during this blockade, the fishermen of neighboring countries entered the waters of Bangladesh and hunted fish, the fishermen claimed.
General Secretary of Kalapara Upazila Fishing Trawler Majhi Cooperative Society, Md. Jahangir Majhi said, “Indian fishermen are catching fish even though the fishermen of the country are observing the blockade. Therefore, we hope that the government will take effective steps to protect the water border of the country to achieve the target of hilsa extraction.”
Md. Fazlu Gazi, president of Mahipur Matsya Arat Malik Samiti, said that since there was no fishing before the blockade, we are hoping that Hilsa will be caught in droves after the blockade.
District Fisheries Officer Molla Emdadullah said that 86 kg of food aid is being provided to 18305 fishermen of the upazila during the blockade. A good number of fishermen have also been fined who have violate the government rules.