Hilsa production on the rise in South
The last six years have been good for hilsa fishing in the south.
For six years, production has continuously increased in the region. Hilsa researchers, officials, and fishers attributed this success to the hard monitoring against jatka netting and various government programmes to conserve the species.
Barishal Divisional Fisheries Office sources said the production of hilsa has been gradually increasing for last six years. According to the fisheries department, hilsa production in the division in 2014-15 was 2 lakh 53 thousand 161 tonnes. From there, it increased to 2 lakh 57 thousand 225 tonnes for 2015-2016. In 2016-2017 this rose to 3 lakh 24 thousand 298 tonnes, to 3 lakh 29 thousand 25 tonnes in 2017-2018 and stood at 3 lakh 41 thousand 119 tonnes in 2018-2019.
Divisional Fisheries Department officials said the stats for this year are even higher, although the numbers are yet to arrive.
According to the department, the production of hilsa in the country in 2018-19 was 5 lakh 15 thousand tonnes which has increased to 5 lakh 33 thousand tonnes in 2019-20.
At least sixty percent of hilsa produced in the country comes from the southern region, confirmed officials.
Hilsa researcher Dr Md Anisur Rahman, principal scientific officer of Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute, said, "I think more hilsa will be available this year than previous years. There are two reasons for this. One is instantaneous and the other is effect of hard, long-term supervision."
"A strict programme to protect hilsa has been going since 2017. There's a 65-day ban on catching hilsa at sea area, which ended on July 23. Besides, a 22-day ban of hilsa netting to protect mother fish and grow hilsa in the sanctuary for 2 months."
SM Ajiar Rahman, Deputy Commissioner, Barishal, said, they have taken strict steps to protect mother hilsa and prevent jatka killing.
District Fisheries Officer Abu Sayed said the administration and the fisheries department are keeping a close watch on the prevention of jatka killing and protection of mother hilsa every season.
"Last year, 48.92 percent hilsa eggs hatched, which was 48 percent the year prior. This means that the rate of laying eggs is on the rise too," Dr Anisur said.
''Another reason is that there has been a lot of rainfall at the beginning of monsoon this year, which is favourable for hilsa production. The river has increased lots of plant and organic plankton. Getting favourable environment, hilsa bred more and started returning to the rivers."
He said that the main reason for getting bigger hilsa is this higher rate of returning to the sea. For example, if a hilsa can go back three times a year, the number of eggs laid also increases. This means that the chances of hilsa growing are much higher than before, resulting in an increase in the abundance of hilsa above one kg.
Azizul Haque, divisional director at Barishal of Directorate of Fisheries, said hilsa production are increasing every year due to the implementation of government's hilsa protection programme.
Bimol Chandra Das, district fisheries officer (hilsa), Barishal, said the average weight of hilsa has increased from previous years. So much so, that this year saw an increase of 10-20 percent in weight.
"Everything kind of clicked this season. The weather has been favourable, rainfall has been great, people did not net jatka as much due to government restriction and strict monitoring. Also, the pandemic forced many to stay ashore. Due to these reasons, the rivers and sea have seen less pollution too," he added.Mamun Dhali, a fisherman from Mehendiganj Upazila of Barishal, said they have netted much bigger hilsa compared to past several years.
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