The 22-day ban on hilsa fishing, imposed since October 13 to ensure the safe breeding of mother hilsa, will be lifted on Sunday. From Monday, fishing for hilsa and all other types of fish will resume in rivers and seas across the country. Thousands of fishermen in Sarankhola, having spent a long break ashore, have returned to their boats, preparing to set out to sea. Many fishermen on numerous fishing trawlers are busy stocking up on supplies, oil, and ice, as well as repairing and adding new nets.
Despite facing losses of hundreds of thousands taka due to the 65-day and 22-day fishing bans, coupled with repeated natural disasters during the 78 days in between the bans, fishermen are getting ready to return to sea, by taking debt to finance their operations. However, many affected fishermen are in despair due to their losses.
Sarwar Hossain, president of the Rajair Motshyo Aratdar Somobay Samiti and a prominent businessman from Rayenda Bazar, along with fishing boat owners Riyadul Sharif and Abbas Majhi, said that during the short fishing periods between the 65-day and 22-day bans, repeated storms made hilsa fishing nearly impossible. This has resulted in heavy losses for both fishermen and fish traders. However, they are hopeful that if no further natural disasters occur, these losses can be recovered.
Sarankhola Senior Upazila Fisheries Officer, Md Zahidul Islam, said that the prime breeding season for mother hilsa is from October 13 to November 3. Under the leadership of Upazila Nirbahi Officer Sudipto Kumar Singh, the conservation drive to protect breeding hilsa was closely monitored along with the Army, River Police, Ansar, and the upazila task force committee members. Additionally, meetings, awareness programmes, public announcements, and leaflet distributions were organized in markets across the upazila to ensure the ban’s success, reaching over 200 fishermen. Based on expert recommendations, the government determined the duration of this ban, and efforts were made to implement it accordingly. Like previous years, the fishermen and fish businessmen in Sarankhola have fully complied with the ban. He expressed gratitude to all those involved.
