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Dhaka: Taking into account the breeding time of mother hilsa, the fish conservation law has been changed based on the full moon of the month of Ashwin and the prohibition period of hilsa harvesting has been increased to 22 days. The government has also decided to stop the acquisition, transportation, marketing and storage of hilsa during this period.
This was stated by the Minister of Fisheries and Livestock, Sham Rezaul Karim, in a press conference on the occasion of the Madre Hilsa-2020 Conservation Campaign (October 14 to November 4) in the conference room of the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock at the Secretariat on Monday (October 12).
The Secretary of Fisheries and Livestock, Raunak Mahmud, the Director General of the Department of Fisheries, Kazi Shams Afroz, and other senior officials were present on the occasion.
Fisheries and Livestock Minister Sham Rezaul Karim said that more than 70 percent of the world’s total hilsa production comes from the estuaries and seas of Bangladesh. Hilsa is much more beautiful and bigger this time than in other years. This has been made possible by the government headed by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, which is committed to implementing timely and pragmatic measures to protect and develop Hilsa’s resources. Hilsa was once rare but is now within the reach of humans. Hilsa has been produced in Bangladesh this time breaking all previous records. To continue this trend, we have completely banned the capture of mother hilsa for 22 days from October 14 to November 4. Together, we have identified the areas where there is a possibility of catching the Hilsa or Jatka mother.
He said that approximately 5 lakh of us are directly involved in hilsa mining and 20 to 25 lakh of people are directly or indirectly involved in transportation, sale, net and boat manufacturing, processing, export, etc. A total of 10,057 metric tons of food aid is being provided to 5 lakh 26,342 fishing families in 153 upazilas in 36 districts of the country, which are already rich in hilsa, before the ban on taking hilsa during the main breeding season.
The minister further said that a total of 36,384 metric tons of food aid has been provided to 4,19,569 families of coastal fishermen during the 65-day ban on fishing at sea. Six hilsa sanctuaries have been established in Padma, Meghna, upper and lower basins, Kalabadar, Andharamanik and other coastal rivers, including Tentulia. In order to protect all other coastal aquatic ‘Megafna’, including Hilsa, this time a 3,017 square kilometer marine protected area has been declared on Nijhum Island and adjacent areas.
The Fisheries minister further said that if someone is seen in any area secretly or alternatively capturing and storing hilsa. That is why we will close the ice factories in those areas. We want all the people of our country to eat hilsa. We will consider whether we can export hilsa commercially in the future after proper production of hilsa. I don’t think so at the moment. However, in the near future, our production and success will reach a point where Bangladesh will be able to earn a great deal of valuable foreign exchange by exporting hilsa.
Sham Rezaul Karim said: “If more hilsa are found somewhere between October 14 and November 4, I will not allow any boats to fish there.” If necessary, boats or ships will be brought in from the estuary and stranded on the shore. At the same time, I will take legal action whenever a mechanical fishing boat arrives from abroad. We will not allow any illegal fishing boat or boat in the waters of Bangladesh, whether domestic or foreign.
When asked about the punishment for catching hilsa during the ban, he said: “A parliamentary committee met on Sunday (October 11) to make our current law more useful.” The law provides for prison terms of one to two years or a fine of 5 lakhs or both. In this case our mobile court will take place.
Bangladesh time: 1400 hours, October 12, 2020
GCG / AAT
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