200kgs of Ilish seized in Shibaloy

The government banned catching; carrying and selling of Ilish during the breeding season, but local fishermen are still going out to catch Ilish in the Padma and Jamuna rivers, eluding local authorities. 

They adopt different techniques to sell and carry these illegally caught Ilish.

On Friday, Shibalaya Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Mehedi Hasan seized huge quantities of illegally caught Ilish while they were being carried using various new techniques to avoid authorities. 

According to sources, local fishermen regardless the ban, were catching Ilish and selling them at the river banks and shores at a very low price.

The administration, following a tip-off, conducted a secret operation in the Laxdia Char naval route of the Shibalaya upazila. Ilish buyers were pretending to be passengers on an engine boat.

 Nearly 200kgs of Ilish were seized from the buyers who were carrying them in metal containers, school bags, clothes and luggage carriers.

Hasan further said “The buyers were transporting the Ilish via unconventional methods to avoid the administration. The seized fish were distributed to local orphanages and madrasas.”

“Five fishermen were detained and were punished over different periods,” he added. 

Meanwhile Shibalaya Upazila Senior Fisheries Officer Rafiqul Alam said that during the operation they destroyed 40 boats and two hundred thousand cubic meters of Current Jal.