Seventy-nine Bangladeshi fishermen and sailors, who were captured by the Indian Coast Guard while fishing on Monday, are yet to be released, leaving family members concerned. Sources said the Indian Coast Guard took away the Bangladeshis along with the two fishing trawlers they were on - FV Meghna-5 and FV Laila-2 - from the Khulna region of the Bay of Bengal, where they were fishing on Monday afternoon. The owners of the two vessels said they were trying to get back the trawlers, but unable to establish any contact with India. Mintu Kumar Saha, chief commercial official of Laila Group, said they came to know that the trawlers were being taken towards the Indian coastal state of Odisha, but "didn’t know why the trawlers and fishermen were captured despite fishing in Bangladeshi maritime territory only". Md Abdus Sattar, director (maritime) at maritime fisheries office, said they, including Coast Guard and Navy, have started activities to bring back the trawlers with everyone on them as soon as possible. Read: Arakan Army returns 20 Bangladeshi fishermen taken from Naf River Sailors’ organizations and trawlers’ owners demanded immediate release of the captured fishermen and hoped that the government would take measures in this regard. Throughout Monday and much of Tuesday, Indian media gave this story a total pass. It was only around Tuesday evening that it started appearing on some outlets, after PTI reported on the basis of a Coast Guard statement. Not surprisingly, the Indian side's version is significantly different. Rather, it said the vessels -- "FV Laila-2 and FV Meghna-5, were found engaged in unauthorised fishing activities in Indian waters near the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL), violating the international maritime laws and bilateral agreements." It also said approximately 160 tonnes of fish were found in the two vessels. Subsequently, the vessels and the crew members were taken to Paradip in Odisha, as some have suspected, for what it called "further investigation". The two vessels have also been booked under the Maritime Zones of India Act, 1981, says the PTI report. Read more: Arakan Army capture 20 Bangladeshi fishermen from Naf River Another minor difference is that Bangladesh is saying 79 detained, but India acknowledges only 78, with 41 from FV Laila-2 and 37 on FV Meghna-5.  

Local communities, including fishermen, Bawal (wood collectors), and Mowal (honey collectors), who rely on the Sundarbans for their livelihoods, are concerned about a three-month ban on all activities in the forest starting today (June 01, 2024). These communities returned home a few weeks ago due to the cyclonic storm Remal, and the forest department has since restricted re-entry into the Sundarbans. With the ban in place, they face a period without income. Forest Dept declares Sundarbans closed to visitors for 3 months The local administration has assured the affected communities of food assistance through the Fisheries Department. Fishermen have expressed their worries, stating their families depend on collecting fish, crabs, and honey in the Sundarbans. With their limited catch prior to returning home due to the storm, many have no savings to sustain them through the ban period. The three-month ban on fishing and tourism in the Sundarbans, effective from June 1 to August 31, aims to provide a safe breeding environment for fish and wild animals. The movement of all vessels, including boats and fishing trawlers, is prohibited, along with the entry of fishermen and honey collectors. Local and foreign tourists are also barred from entering the forest during this time. AKM Iqbal Hossain Chowdhury, Assistant Forest Conservator of the West Sundarbans, explained that June to August is the primary breeding season for fish in the region's rivers and canals. Cyclone Remal: 15 more dead deer recovered from Sundarbans During these three months, most fish release eggs, and it is also the breeding season for many wild animals. Restricting access helps protect biodiversity and wildlife, he said. The damage caused by Cyclone Remal to the forest’s biodiversity and wildlife is expected to recover more quickly with the ban in place. Abu Naser Mohsin Hossain, a forest official of the Sundarbans West Division, confirmed that entry into the Sundarbans will resume on September 1. Since 2019, the Integrated Resource Management Plan (IRMP) has recommended closing the Sundarbans' rivers and canals to fishing from July 1 to August 31 annually. In 2021, this restriction was extended to three months, starting June 1, in coordination with the Fisheries Department. The Sundarbans is home to about 289 species of animals, including 42 species of mammals, 35 species of reptiles, 8 species of amphibians, and 219 species of aquatic animals. Cyclone Remal: Animal death toll in Sundarbans rises to 100 If boats ply the rivers and canals, it disrupts the fish during their egg-laying period, so all types of boats are banned, explained Mihir Kumar Doe, Khulna Forest Conservator. He noted that this year's ban follows the same pattern as previous years. The local communities remain hopeful that the promised assistance will help them navigate through this challenging period.

A total of 10,000 fishermen from coastal areas are expected to gather at Dublar Char, popularly known as “Shutki Polli” or Dried Fish Village, as dried fish processing season kicked off. Every year, several thousand fishermen and hired hands flock to the area to catch fish and make shutki (dried fish). According to the forest department, this year, the authorities concerned have given permission to erect 108 makeshift houses and 78 depots for accommodation of fishermen and preservation of dried fish. Bagerhat's Dublar Char abuzz as fish drying season begins The fishermen will catch fish using 1500 trawlers in the Sundarbans. They will process the fish and keep those under the sun for drying. Dublar Char is already buzzing with workers and traders after the authorities issued permits to fishermen to catch fish. Thousands of Dublar Char fishermen take oath together with PM on Victory Day Last year, the government earned Tk 6 crore revenue from Dublar Char and this year, a Tk 7 crore target has been set. Different species of fish including Loitta, Faissa, Koral, Pomfret, Chhuri, Tuna and many more are being processed at Dublar Char. The demand of dried fish from the area is high as they are processed without using chemicals and formalin. Dublar Char comes alive as Sutki fish season gets underway Rabiul Islam, a fisherman from Rampal upazila, said he came to Dublar Char on Friday and spent a busy day making makeshift houses with bamboo, polythene and hogla (long dry grass used for sheds). Shahid Mallik, president of Matsyajibi Samity, said thousands of fishermen have already reached the area while many went to the sea to catch fish. Dilip Majumdar, officer-in-charge of Alorkol camp, said the fishermen are busy erecting makeshift houses and it takes two to three days to complete. Some fishermen were busy processing their catch under the open sky, he said. Rana Deb, assistant forest conservator of Sundarbans East zone, said the dried fish processing season began on November 3 and will continue till March 31, next year. The fishermen will live in Alorkol, Majherkella, Narikelbaria and Shelar Char for five months. Sheikh Mahbub Hasan, assistant conservator of Forests under Sharankhola Range, said the forest department has been asked to remain vigilant so that no one in the guise of fishermen can commit crimes on Dublar Char.  

The two-month ban on hilsa fishing — in the 70 km Padma-Meghna sanctuary area in Chandpur — imposed by the government to protect “jatka” (hilsa fry), will end at 12am tonight. With the ban lifted, fishermen are preparing to resume hilsa fishing. Chandpur district has around 44,000 registered fishermen, and they will start fishing from Shatanal of Matlab Uttar upazila to Charbhairavi of Haimchar upazila.  However, fishermen have complained about the full implementation of the ban. Also Read: 2-month ban on Hilsa fishing to end Sunday midnight Majority of locals in Chandpur’s Padma-Meghna sanctuary area earn their living through fishing and farming. After being unemployed for two months, fishermen have repaired their boats and nets in preparation for the resumption of fishing. Fishermen were seen busy repairing nets and boats in different areas of the district.  Some people come from different parts of the district just to repair nets at this time. However, fishermen fear that they will not get the expected amount of fish because fishermen from Munshiganj, Mohanpur, and Shariatpur areas kept catching jatka.  The fishing ban was not implemented properly, said Bahria area fisherman Shahjahan Khan.  Law enforcement needs to be tougher so that no fisherman can go to the river, he said. Also Read: 29 fishermen punished in Chandpur for violating ban on catching Hilsa The District Fisheries Officer, Golam Mehedi Hasan, said that the district and upazila task force continued to make every effort to implement the two-month ban to protect the national resource hilsa.  A total of 371 people were jailed from March 1 to April 28 for violating the law and were sentenced to various terms. With a view to boost the production of hilsa, the government imposed the two-month ban on hilsa catching, selling, hoarding and transporting from March 1 till April 30. The Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock allocated 40 kg of rice for each registered fisherman during this ban period. Hilsa has the highest contribution to the country's fish production as the single fish species. Every year, the government imposes a two-month ban on catching, selling, hoarding and transporting hilsa to boost production.  

At least sixteen policemen were injured in an attack by a group of fishermen in the Meghna river on Friday evening. Bikash Chandra Dey, in charge of Hizla River Police Unit, is among the injured. They are now receiving treatment at a local hospital, said Sayed Hossain, duty officer of Hizla River Police Unit. Hizla upazila executive officer Mohammad Tarek Hawladar, said a team, including river police, conducted a drive in the Meghna river sanctuary in Hizla upazila this evening. While the law enforcers tried to lift a net in the river, the fishermen, who were engaged in netting fish, attacked them, leaving 16 cops injured, the officer said. Police had to open fire on eight rounds of bullets to bring the situation under control. Action will be taken against those involved in the attack, said Yunus Miah, officer-in-charge of Hizla Police Station.  

Coast Guard recovered the bodies of two fishermen from the Bay of Bengal Tuesday and Wednesday almost a week after a fishing boat carrying them capsized when a hole appeared in the vessel and water started gushing into it. The deceased were identified as Yusuf, 25, and Bayezid, 20, Barguna's Patharghata. Kazi Shaminul Bari, Coast Guard Kachikhali Contingent commander, said the duo started sleeping on the boat after casting their net to catch fish in the Bay on January 5. "They went missing after their fishing boat sank." The Coast Guard personnel had been carrying out rescue operations to find the missing fishermen in the Bay and several areas of the Sundarbans since January 6, he said. Although the fishing boat was salvaged from the Bay on the following day, floating bodies of Yusuf and Bayezid were found on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning from the sea, Shaminul said. Md Ikram Hossain, officer-in-charge of Sharankhola Police Station, said the bodies were handed over to their families after the completion of legal procedures. Read more: 13 trawlers sink in Bay in Cox’s Bazar

The Forest Department has detained 16 fishermen from the Sundarbans for catching Parshe (mullet) fries, during its breeding period from November-January, from the river and canals defying a ban. A team of Forest Department (West) led by Zahirul Islam, officer-in-charge of Nilkomol Patrol Outpost, detained the fishermen around 4:30am on Thursday during a drive at the Bangabandhur Char area, said Divisional Forest Officer of Sundarbans West Forest Division Abu Naser Mohsin Hossain. They also seized two fishing boats, he added. "A case has been filed under the Forest Act; the fishermen have been sent to Koyra Upazila Senior Judicial Magistrate Court." Read more: 11 kidnapped fishermen rescued in Sundarbans: Police Fishermen of Shyamnagar, Koyra, Paikgacha, and Dakop surrounding the Sundarbans are using illegal nets to catch fish fries. The fishermen illegally catch a large number of fish fries from the Sundarbans' Alor Kol, Dublar Char, Batlurchar, Chachanangla, Poshur, Agun Jala, Kalir Char, Gera Chalki, Bajbaja, Hanshoraj, Andarmanik, Dhangmari; Chichkhali and Majjat rivers. Due to the use of monofilament nets, Parshe fish fries and different species of fish are being killed. Around 20-25 groups of 8-10 fishermen on engine-driven fishing boats are using 200-300-metre long and 40-50-metre wide nets to catch a maund of fish fries of different species in each haul every day. Also, some forest officials tip the fishermen off when their senior officials prepare for conducting a drive in the Sundarbans. Next, the fishermen hide in the forest. And when the drive is over they resume their illegal fishing. Read more: 26 rescued Bangladeshi fishermen return from India Poshur River Waterkeeper Coordinator Md Nur Alam Sheikh said a group of money lenders pay low-income fishermen a lot of money in advance to send them to the Sundarbans to make extra profit with fish fries. Some forest officials and employees are also cooperating with them in exchange for a large amount of money, he added.

Police on Wednesday rescued 11 fishermen, who were kidnapped by robbers from different areas of the Sundarbans from December 13 to 18. Those rescued were identified as Hanif, 48, Sohel Mallick, 28, Asadul Sheikh, 32, Akram Sheikh, 42, Anichh Sheikh, 22, Milon Sheikh, 23, Rafiqul Islam Khan, 35, Shukkur Ali Befari, 30, Monir Befari, 36 and Baktiar Befari, 35, hailing from different areas of Bagerhat and Khulna districts. However, no criminals have been detained so far in this connection. Read more: 'Operation Sundarban' mesmerises audience at star-studded premiere The criminals kidnapped the fishermen with their trawlers and other valuables from rivers and canals in the Sundarbans while they were fishing. Later, the kidnappers demanded ransom from the families of the victims over mobile phone. KM Arifqul Hoque, superintendent of police of the district, said police teams from Mongla and Sharankhola police stations conducted drives in the forest and rescued the fishermen. He said such drives will continue to make the forest free from the robbers and other criminals. Eight of the rescued fishermen were taken to Mongla police station and 3 others to Sharankhola police station. Read more: Shooting of ‘Operation Sundarbans’ begins

The fishing community of Cox’s Bazar is very happy with business catching Hilsa in swarms. Fishing trawlers are returning to the shore full of Hilsa and other fish, bringing down the prices to a tolerable level. Once deserted fish warehouses and markets of the district are now buzzing with fishermen, traders, and buyers from morning to night. Visiting Cox’s Bazar Fisheries Landing Station, UNB found the place in a celebratory mood. After the onslaught of Cyclone Sitrang and a 22-day ban on Hilsa catching, hundreds of fishing trawlers are arriving at the station with tons of Hilsa every day. Read More: With Hilsa catch declining, Bagerhat fishermen stare at penury No one seems to have time for doing anything else at the landing station. Some were loading the fish into warehouses, some were breaking ice while others were arranging the fishes in baskets. Many traders were also seen sending truckloads of Hilsa consignments to different parts of the country after getting expected prices.

Fishermen are gearing up to resume netting, as the 22-day ban on catching, selling, transportation and hoarding of the delicious hilsa ends on Friday midnight. Fishermen in different districts, including Chandpur, are preparing their fishing nets and trawlers to head to the rivers after 12am. Read more: 5 arrested with five maunds of Hilsa in Shariatpur Like previous years, the ban was imposed on a 90-kilometre-long area from Matlab Shatnol to Haimchar in Chandpur. The law enforcers seized huge quantities of mother hilsa and fishing nets, trawlers in different parts of the country for catching hilsa defying the ban. Fisheries department, upazila and district administrations, police and Coast Guard personnel carried out regular drives to make sure that the ban was implemented strictly. During the ban, around 50,000 fishermen remained unemployed and were allocated 25kg of rice each, which was not enough for them, said local fishers. Taukir Ahmed, an official from the control room of the district fisheries office, said around 212 fishermen were sent to jail during the ban period in 178 cases. Besides, 41,855 metres of current nets were seized and destroyed, said head of Chandpur Naval Police Mohammad Kamruzzaman. The 22-day government ban on hilsa catching, selling, hoarding and transporting came into effect on October 7, with a view to boosting its production. The ban covered hilsa sanctuaries in six districts -- Barishal, Chandpur, Laxmipur, Bhola, Shariatpur and Patuakhali. Read more: Hilsa ban: 18 detained in Bhola after fishermen clash with police again Hilsa, the national fish of Bangladesh, is recognised as a certified patented product of Bangladesh. The marine fish goes to rivers in Bangladesh to lay eggs. The fish is very popular both in Bangladesh and West Bengal. About 75 per cent of the world's hilsa is netted in Bangladesh. Chandpur is considered one of the largest trading hubs of hilsa in Bangladesh as the fish from the Padma river is much more popular than the ones that come from other rivers.