8-month ban on 'jatka' fishing from Thursday

An eight-month-long ban has been imposed on catching, selling, hoarding and transporting of 'jatka' (ilish fry less than 25cm long) from Thursday with the purpose of increasing production.

District and divisional Fisheries officers said the authorities imposed the ban on catching ilish fry from November 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019, across 7,000 square km of coastal, estuarial and riverine areas to ensure free breeding of ilish.

They said during the time, the government will provide aid to the fishermen, reports UNB.
 
Chandpur Fisheries Research Institute's Chief Scientific Officer Dr Anisur Rahman said the mother ilish have already started to move towards the coastal areas for laying eggs. An ilish can lay around 2.1 million eggs.
 
Bagerhat zone Fisheries Officer Zia Haider said if the ban is followed strictly, there is a possibility of at least 500,000 metric tons of ilish production due in the next season.
 
He said the government will provide 40kg of rice to the fishermen per capita in each month during the ban.
 
According to the Fisheries Department, there are at least 1.6 to 2 million registered fishermen in Bangladesh and among them 39,103 are in the district, he said.
 
Following the government's attempt to increase ilish production, some 496,000 metric tons of ilish were produced in the fiscal year 2016-2017, while it increased to 590,000 in the fiscal year of 2017-2018, he added.
 
Two fishermen of Sarankhola upazila, Rafiqul Islam and Abu Taleb said the government should provide food to those fishermen who will refrain from catching fish during the ban.
 
Wishing anonymity, a fisherman said the government will have to take action against those factories involved in producing thinly knitted nets.