Fishing ban slapped in 6 southern districts

Authorities have placed a two-month ban on fishing in six southern districts, starting from today.

The move comes to facilitate the safe spawning of fish fries over 432 kilometres of riverine areas, our Barishal correspondent reports.

Ilisha, Meghna, Tentulia, Kalabador, Andharmanik, Gojaria, Lota, and Padma rivers in Barisal, Bhola, Patuakhali, Shariatpur, Chandpur and Laxmipur will come under purview of the ban.

These regions have been declared a sactuary of fishes since 2006.

Fishermen would not be allowed to catch any fish, including jatka (hilsa fish fry measuring less than 10 inches) during this ban, local Fisheries Officer Bimal Chandra Das told The Daily Star.

Dr Azizul Haque, acting District Fishery Officer (DFO) of Barisal, told The Daily Star the law enforcers have been notified to assist in maintaining the ban.

“We will raise awareness among fishermen through view exchange programmes,” he said. Mobile courts will start soon to make the ban successful, he added.

However, fishermen are not yet aware of the restriction against fishing, says a fisherman Anowar Hossain.

Israil Pandit, president of a local small fishermen’s organisation, told The Daily Star the ban is unlikely to be successful without sufficient subsidy for the fishermen.