Kaptai lake fishing resumes with 54pc rise

Fishing resumed in Kaptai Lake after a 107-day ban with a record 193 tonnes of fish landed at four stations in Rangamati on the first day, earning over Tk 42.40 lakh in revenue.

Rangamati BFDC Deputy Manager Md Masud Alam confirmed the development to the media, saying the amount of fish landed on Tuesday, the first day of the 2026-27 fishing season, was around 54 percent higher than the corresponding figure on the first day of the previous fiscal year.

In the 2025-26 fiscal year, around 125 tonnes of fish were landed at the four stations on the first day, generating Tk 27,57,287 in government revenue.

Since fishing resumed, fish have been arriving at the landing stations from different parts of Kaptai Lake, including Baghaichhari, Langadu, Barkal, Bilaichhari, Maini, Shubhalong, Gachhkatachhara and Raingkhyong Canal.

After paying the required duties, traders are preserving the fish with ice and sending them to wholesale markets in Chattogram, Dhaka and different parts of northern Bangladesh.

The resumption of full-scale fishing has brought renewed activity among fishermen and fish traders in the region.

However, the Bangladesh Fisheries Development Corporation (BFDC) has tightened regulations to maintain discipline at the landing stations. From Wednesday, no fishing trawler or boat will be allowed to berth at the stations after 7pm.

Rangamati BFDC authorities have urged traders to cooperate in maintaining the rules and discipline, saying proper management could help ensure the availability of fish throughout the year.

Md Abdur Shukkur, general secretary of the Rangamati Fish Traders’ Association, said fishermen and traders were busy after fishing resumed following the long ban.

He expressed optimism that fish production would be good this season and that fishermen and traders would be able to make profits.

The fishing ban was imposed on Kaptai Lake from April 25 to ensure the breeding and natural reproduction of carp species. As the lake’s water level did not return to normal, the ban was later extended until midnight on August 10.

Following the lifting of the ban, full-scale fishing resumed in the early hours of August 11.