Jatka Conservation Week to be observed from  11-17 March

The government has announced observance of Jatka Conservation Week from 11-17 March to raise awareness among fishermen, hilsa sellers, wholesalers, and consumers. 

"Various programmes will be organised to observe the Jatka Conservation Week over seven days. The inauguration will take place on 11 March at the Sadar upazila in Chandpur," said Fisheries and Livestock Minister Abdur Rahman during a press conference today (6 March) at the Secretariat.

This awareness campaign will take place across 20 hilsa-rich districts in the country.

In the fiscal year 2022-23, 571,000 metric tonnes of hilsa were produced.

"One of the main obstacles to increasing hilsa production is illegal nets," said the minister.

To crack down on illegal fishing practices, the minister said a "Special Combing Operation" was conducted in 17 districts over 30 days in January and February of this year. 

This operation led to the destruction of 7,669 behundi nets, 448.71 million metres of current nets, and 19,742 others. 

It also resulted in 690 lawsuits, with fines totalling Tk23 crore and sentencing 192 individuals.

The minister also said, " To date, 764 mobile courts and 5,163 raids have been conducted under the Jatka conservation initiative, confiscating 336.890 million metres of illegal nets and imposing fines of Tk38 crore."

Continuous raids are planned to protect Jatka nationwide until June, he added.

Furthermore, the minister said a programme is underway to distribute 57,771 metric tonnes of VGF rice over four months to 361,071 fishing families in 97 Upazilas across 20 districts, encouraging them to refrain from catching Jatka.

"We want to increase hilsa production by protecting mother hilsa in any way possible," he said.

When asked about initiatives to reduce the price of hilsa, the minister said, "It's a relative question whether or not hilsa is out of reach for the middle-income people."

"There are certainly issues regarding the price of hilsa. It comes from middlemen to the market, and there's a group of brokers in the market, known as middlemen. This is not only in the case of hilsa but also a general scenario affecting our market prices and the prices of daily necessities," he said.