Hilsa, the gastronome's delight, may soon be within the reach of the common people in Bangladesh, if the government is to be believed.

According to the fisheries and livestock minister SM Rezaul Karim, the Bangladesh government is trying its best to bring the prices of hilsa down in the country by taking measures to boost production.

“The government is working relentlessly to not only cater to the domestic demand but also earning foreign exchange through hilsa exports," he told reporters at a briefing on the occasion of ‘Jatka Conservation Week-2022’ at the Secretariat.

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Like every year, the government will observe ‘Jatka Conservation Week-2022’ from March 31 to April 6, aiming to create mass awareness on preservation to boost the overall hilsa production, he said.

“The importance of hilsa is immense in meeting the nutrition 'needs' of people, creating employment opportunities, keeping the wheels of the economy active and in the financial-social development. Of the total fish production in the country, 12.22 per cent is hilsa,” he added.

Rezaul also requested people to refrain from catching, hoarding, selling and eating jatka for the sake of the development of the fish.

In the 2008-2009 fiscal, the production of hilsa was 2.98 thousand tonnes while it reached 5.65 thousand tonnes in 2020-2021, he said.

During the 30-day special combing operation in 17 districts recently, 884 mobile courts conducted 3,564 drives and seized nearly 15,000 fishing nets.

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The government also disbursed food assistance through the Vulnerable Food Programme (VGF) to the fishermen during the ban.

In 2021, the government distributed 11,119 thousand tonnes of rice to 5,55,944 fishermen, he said.

A two-month government ban on catching, selling, hoarding and transporting hilsa began on March 1 to boost its production. The ban will be lifted on May 1, said a handout on February 28.