Desk Report:
Hilsa fishing will be banned for 22 days from October 4 to October 25. During this period, catching, transporting, selling, storing and exchanging hilsa will be prohibited and a special conservation drive will be launched.
This information was given by Farida Akhtar, Advisor to the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, at a press conference organized on Monday afternoon on the ‘Mother Hilsa Conservation Drive 2025 during the main breeding season of Hilsa’ and the availability, price and overall situation of Hilsa across the country.
The advisor said that a special drive will be conducted to protect mother Hilsa from October 4 to October 25. This time, the drive will last for a total of 22 days, including the four days before Ashwini Purnima and the three days after Amavasya.
He said that in order to continue the trend of increasing hilsa production, a notification has been issued banning the collection, transportation, storage, marketing, purchase, sale and exchange of hilsa throughout the country to ensure that mature hilsa can safely lay eggs during the main breeding season of hilsa.
The Fisheries and Livestock Advisor further said that during the period when Hilsa fishing is banned, VGF rice will be provided to 620,140 fishermen families in 165 upazilas of 37 districts of the country. Each family will be allocated 25 kg of rice. This will require a total of 503.50 tons of rice.
It was informed at the press conference that this period has been determined according to the opinions of the Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute (BFRI) and other concerned organizations, especially fishermen. Since both the full moon and new moon periods of the breeding season are important for egg laying, two phases have been included to ensure maximum reproduction. This program is known as the ‘Ma Hilsa Conservation Campaign 2025’. Along with fisheries officials, all law enforcement agencies including naval police, coast guard, navy, air force will participate in the campaign.
During this campaign, the entry of fishing trawlers coming from outside Bangladeshi waters will be strictly controlled. Dredging in the river will be completely stopped during this time. At the same time, hilsa harvesting will be completely closed for 22 days during the main breeding season in the sea, coast and estuaries.
Last year, in a 22-day campaign from October 13 to November 3, 2018, 54.86 tons of hilsa were seized, 612.11 million meters of nets were destroyed and 75.27 million taka in fines were collected through 2,169 mobile courts and 9,813 campaigns.
