Special drive to protect mother hilsa Oct 4-25: Farida
NN ONLINE:
Fisheries and Livestock Adviser Farida Akhter today announced that netting of hilsa will be suspended nationwide from October 4 to 25 as part of a special drive to protect mother hilsa. She made the announcement at a press conference held at the ministry’s conference room at the Secretariat.
The adviser said that to ensure sustainable hilsa production and allow mother hilsa to safely spawn during the peak breeding season, a notification has been issued prohibiting the collection, transportation, storage, marketing, purchase, sale, and exchange of hilsa across the country in accordance with the Fisheries Conservation Act, 1950.
She added the Fisheries Department has declared that the special mother hilsa protection drive for 2025 will be conducted from October 4 to October 25, including four days before the full moon of Ashwin (Bangla Month) and three days after the new moon, totaling 22 days. The timeline was determined based on the advice of the Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute (BFRI) and other relevant organizations, particularly local fishers.
The adviser said that both the full moon and new moon periods during the breeding season are critical for spawning and both phases ensure maximum reproduction. The initiative is known as the “Mother hilsa Protection Drive 2025.”
During this period, hilsa collection, transport, sale, storage, and exchange in rivers will be completely banned. The operation will involve fisheries officials along with the River Police, Coast Guard, Navy, and Air Force.
She said that 6,20,140 fisher families in 165 upazilas of 37 districts will receive 25kg of rice per family under the Vulnerable Group Feeding (VGF) program, totaling 15,503.50 metric tonnes for the entire operation.
The adviser said that intrusion of trawlers outside water boundaries will be strictly controlled, dredging in rivers will be completely halted, and hilsa collection along the sea, coast, and river mouths will also remain fully banned for 22 days during the peak breeding season.
She noted that during the previous 22-day drive from October 13 to November 3, 2,169 mobile courts and 9,813 operations led to the seizure of 54.86 metric tonnes of hilsa, destruction of 612 lakh meters of nets, and collection of fines totaling Tk 75.27 lakh.
According to research by BFRI, the 2024 ban allowed 52.5 percent of mother hilsa to safely spawn, adding 44,250 crore fry/larvae to fish families, which will mature into adult hilsa in the future. The adviser expressed hope that the 2025 drive will be even more organized and effective.
The adviser noted that hilsa require both river and marine environments for their life cycle. Mother hilsa enter freshwater rivers from the sea via estuaries to spawn, with larvae returning to the sea to mature. The Barishal division contributes over 85 percent of national production.