Mother Ilish Conservation Campaign implemented successfully

The Fisheries and Livestock Ministry has implemented a comprehensive program to make the “Mother Ilish Conservation” campaign a success from October 14 to November 4 this year.

Under the direction of Fisheries and Livestock Minister SM Rezaul Karim and under the supervision of Fisheries and Livestock Secretary Raunak Mahmud, the officials working at the divisional, district and upazila levels of the Fisheries Department have implemented the programs, said a press release.

Along with the ministry officials, the deputy commissioners (DCs) of 36 districts, upazila nirbahi officers (UNOs) of 152 Upazilas, district and upazila executive magistrates, Naval Police, Police, Coast Guard, Air Force, Navy, RAB, BGB and other voluntary organizations and individuals have played a direct role in the implementation of these programs.

On October 14, the first day of the campaign, the Fisheries and Livestock minister took part in the waterway campaign to encourage fishermen to conserve mother Ilish.

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The minister was accompanied by Fisheries and Livestock Secretary Raunak Mahmud and senior officials of the ministry and the Fisheries Department.

Ministry officials have also regularly taken part in field-level campaigns in various districts. To make the operation a success, several monitoring teams consisting of the ministry and the Fisheries Department officials worked in the field regularly.

This year, under the direction of the ministry, the Bangladesh Air Force conducted an exceptional operation by helicopter to protect mother Ilish. In addition, naval police, police, air force, navy and coast guard conducted several joint raids, said the release.

According to the report of the Central Control Room set up by the Fisheries Department on the occasion of implementation of Mother Ilish Conservation Campaign 2020, 2,640 mobile courts and 19,818 campaigns have been conducted in 8 divisions of the country in 22 days of implementation of this year’s campaign.

During the operation, 2,685 other illegal nets including current nets worth Tk243.36 crore were seized.

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During the period, 5,533 fishermen have been jailed for various terms and fined Tk90,83,600 under the Fisheries Act for illegal fishing. Besides, 6,904 cases were filed.

During this period, 45.41 metric tons of illegally harvested Ilish were seized.

From October 14 to November 4, the government banned the procurement, transportation, marketing, buying, selling, stocking and exchange of Ilish for a total of 22 days.

Procuring, transporting, marketing, buying, selling, stocking and exchanging Ilish during these 22 days counted as a criminal offense.