Our Correspondent, Barishal :
In order to protect safe spawning of egg of mother hilsa, the 22-day ban started from early Sunday in upazila and district level.
Every year, this ban is placed between new moon and full moon in the month of Ashwin by the Directorate of Fisheries.
Catching, buying and transporting hilsa is completely prohibited during this biggest ban.
According to the Department of Fisheries, 5 lakh 72 thousand 342 metric tons of hilsa have been produced in the whole country in the fiscal year 2022-2023.
Out of which 3 lakh 72 thousand 342 metric tons have been produced in Barishal division, which is more than 65 percent of the total production.
Meanwhile, syndicates led by local chairmen became active in the vast maritime areas of Hijla, Mehndiranj and Bhola during the ban.
The Divisional Fisheries Directorate office has said that hilsa collection, stocking and marketing will be closed from earlyOctober 13 to early November 3 this year.
The district and upazila administration, the task force including the coast guard and the police have confirmed various punishments including jail, fines against those who violate the law.
Locals say that former UP chairman AL leader Nazrul Islam Milon and Belal Molla once led syndicate in Hijla.
But they left the scenario after August 5 and that place has been taken by BNP leaders.
These influencers control about 100 fish ghats and illegally catch hilsa and supply it to different places including Dhaka.
Israiel Pandit, President of the Divisional Fishermen’s Association, said the price of hilsa will not decrease if the fishing grounds are not rescued from the grip of the syndicate.
They force the fishermen to hunt fish and buy fish at a low price and sell it at a high price.
Besides hilsa is very sensitive variety of fish. So any obstacle like creation of shoal, increase of salinity in inner rivers changes the routes of ground for lying eggs in sweet water, fishermen leader added.
Meanwhile, Abdur Rashid, a hilsa trader in Mohipur, said that although hilsa fishing has been stopped in the rivers and seas of the Bangladesh part, there is no such ban in the Indian part.
Due to these reasons, Indian fishermen are taking fish to our border. We want the ban to be simultaneous or in Bangladesh waters so that no other trawler can enter.
Barishal District Fisheries Officer (Hilsa) Bimal Chandra Das said that due to weather conditions, not much Hilsa was found this year.