<i>Jatka</i> seized in Narayanganj, Chandpur

Coastguards recover 2,400kg jatka (hilsa fry) worth over Tk 5 lakh during a raid on engine boats at Sowarighat in the capital yesterday. A portion of the catch was later given to orphanages and sold at auction.Photo: Focus Bangla

Coastguard members yesterday seized about 70 maunds of Hilsa fry in separate drives in Narayanganj and Chandpur.
Meanwhile, a two-month-long ban has been imposed on fishing in different areas in the southern part of the country.
The coastguard conducted drives at Sadarghat, Sowarighat and adjacent areas and seized about 2,400 kilograms of Hilsa fry from several boats in the Buriganga river, sources said.
Coastguard officials said a group of fish traders brought Hilsa fry worth about Tk 101,000 by vessel Swarnadweep from the country's southern part.
In another drive, about 10 maunds of Hilsa fry were seized from several fishing boats in Chandpur.
The government has imposed a ban on netting Hilsa fish below nine inches in length.
Meanwhile, the Fisheries Department has imposed a ban on netting all species of fish during the breeding season from March 1 to April 30 at three points, reports our Patuakhali correspondent.
The areas where fishing will be prohibited are Char Rustam point in Tetulia river of Galachipa upazila, a 90-km-area stretching from Elisha to Char Pial point in the Meghna River of Bhola and a 100-km-area stretching from Veduria in Bhola to Shatnal in Chandpur.
The fisheries department selected the three points stretching over an area of 290 kilometres as those are vital for breeding of fish.
Different species of fish would lay eggs at these points during the period, said District Fish Survey Officer Md Faruq Hossain.
“We are trying to motivate the fishermen not to catch fish during the breeding season,” he said.
Coastguard members will patrol the areas to make sure that nobody catches fish there, he added.
A two-month-long ban on fishing has also been slapped from March 1 to April 30 in different areas in the southern region of the country, reports our Barisal correspondent.
Barisal fishery office sources said the fishermen would not be allowed to catch fish in a 100-km area from Shatnol to Char Alexander in Meghna and Padma rivers, a 90-km-area from Madanpur Char to Shahabazpur in Meghna and Ilisha rivers, a 100-km area from Veduria to Char Rustom in Bishkhali and Tentulia rivers and a 50-km-area from Kalapara to Charmanik.
Source said as part of a plan a 340-kilometre-area covering Ilisha, Meghna,Tentulia, Bishkhali and Padma rivers running through Barisal, Bhola, Patuakhali, Barguna, Munshiganj, Chandpur and Laxmipur would be declared as fish sanctuary.
Leaflets are being distributed among fishermen and fish traders in the areas to give them necessary information about the ban on fishing.
The government will provide special grants and alternative employment opportunities to the affected fishermen.
However, Md Yusuf Ali, organising secretary of district fishermen association, said monthly grant of Tk 200-300 for each fisherman is too small. The affected fishermen need to be provided with alternative employment, he added.