Members of Bangladesh Coast Guard seized around 6.38 crore meters of illegal nets, 9,832 kgs of Hilsa and 115 boats from the coastal areas and different rivers during the 22-day ban on Hilsa netting that ended Monday midnight.
The ban was imposed from October 4 to October 25 midnight as part of 'Mother Hilsa Conservation Campaign-2021' to ensure safe spawning of the popular fish during its peak breeding period.
Lt. Khandaker Munif Taki, media officer at the Bangladesh Coast Guard headquarters on Tuesday said a total of 3,049 drives were conducted during the period and 256 fishermen detained for catching Hilsa illegally.
Read: Kitchen markets in Dhaka take the heat from 22-day Hilsa ban
He said that the seized nets were burnt in the presence of local administration, members of law enforcement agencies and fisheries officials and the seized Hilsa were distributed among local orphanages and the poor.
Besides, the detained fishermen were sentenced to different jail terms and fined through mobile courts.
Hilsa has the highest contribution to the country's fish production, which contributes to more than 12.09% of the country's fish production.
The production of the fish has gone up by 159.76% in the last 15 years.
Read: 22-day ban on Hilsa fishing begins Sunday midnight
The government also imposes ban on catching hilsa during March-April to help the Hilsa fry grow and return to sea.
Hilisa production jumped from 300,000 tons in 2008-09 to 500,000 tons in 2017-18. In the last financial year, 550,000 tons of Hilsa were caught in the country, according to the Fisheries and Livestock Ministry.