Chandpur fishermen gear up to catch hilsa as ban ends on Friday midnight

Fishermen are gearing up to resume netting, as the 22-day ban on catching, selling, transportation and hoarding of the delicious hilsa ends on Friday midnight.

Fishermen in different districts, including Chandpur, are preparing their fishing nets and trawlers to head to the rivers after 12am.

Like previous years, the ban was imposed on a 90-kilometre-long area from Matlab Shatnol to Haimchar in Chandpur.

The law enforcers seized huge quantities of mother hilsa and fishing nets, trawlers in different parts of the country for catching hilsa defying the ban.

Fisheries department, upazila and district administrations, police and Coast Guard personnel carried out regular drives to make sure that the ban was implemented strictly.

During the ban, around 50,000 fishermen remained unemployed and were allocated 25kg of rice each, which was not enough for them, said local fishers.

Taukir Ahmed, an official from the control room of the district fisheries office, said around 212 fishermen were sent to jail during the ban period in 178 cases.

Besides, 41,855 metres of current nets were seized and destroyed, said head of Chandpur Naval Police Mohammad Kamruzzaman.

The 22-day government ban on hilsa catching, selling, hoarding and transporting came into effect on October 7, with a view to boosting its production.

The ban covered hilsa sanctuaries in six districts -- Barishal, Chandpur, Laxmipur, Bhola, Shariatpur and Patuakhali.

Hilsa, the national fish of Bangladesh, is recognised as a certified patented product of Bangladesh. The marine fish goes to rivers in Bangladesh to lay eggs.

The fish is very popular both in Bangladesh and West Bengal. About 75 per cent of the world's hilsa is netted in Bangladesh.

Chandpur is considered one of the largest trading hubs of hilsa in Bangladesh as the fish from the Padma river is much more popular than the ones that come from other rivers.