80pc of global hilsa production comes from BD: Minister
Over 80 percent of the world’s total hilsa production comes from the rivers, estuaries, and coastal waters of Bangladesh, said Minister of Fisheries, Livestock and Agriculture Mohammed Amin Ur Rashid.
Moreover, Bangladesh ranks first among the 11 hilsa-producing countries. Hilsa accounts for approximately 9.79 percent of the country’s total fish production and contributes around 1 percent to the national gross domestic product, he said.
The minister made the remarks on Monday at a press conference at the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, marking Jatka Conservation Week 2026.
State Minister for Fisheries and Livestock Sultan Salauddin Tuku, Fisheries and Livestock Secretary Md Delwar Hossain, Director General of the Department of Fisheries Zia Haider Chowdhury and senior officials of the ministry were present.
The inaugural programme of the week will be held in Chandpur Sadar on April 7. This time, the theme has been set as ‘If we stop Jatka fishing, the sea and rivers will be filled with hilsa.’
Highlighting the government’s activities to protect hilsa, the minister said the government has already taken several important steps for the sustainable development of hilsa resources.
Those include declaring a ban on all types of fishing in the Bay of Bengal from April 15 to June 11 (58 days), stopping hilsa fishing for 22 days during the breeding season, he said
About 600,000 people in Bangladesh are directly involved in hilsa fishing, while an additional 2 million to 2.5 million people are engaged directly or indirectly in related activities such as transportation, marketing, net and boat manufacturing, ice production, fish processing, and export.
The minister added that the programmer, organized by the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, will be observed across 20 hilsa-rich districts.
Alongside a three-day central programmer, various awareness campaigns will also be conducted at the district and sub-district levels.
State Minister Sultan Salauddin Tuku said food assistance has been provided to 40,000 fishermen families in the last two months.
This assistance includes 80 kg of rice, 12 kg of flour, 10 kg of oil, 4 kg of sugar, 8 kg of pulses and 16 kg of potatoes, with a total value of about Taka 6,000, he said.
Tuku said fishermen have not received this amount of food assistance in the past. Even then, he said, local parliamentarians will continue to support the fishers.
He also said the government will not tolerate any irregularities and appropriate action will be taken if irregularities are found.
