The government is going to impose a 22-day ban on hilsa fishing from October 7. Hilsa catching, selling and transportation will remain prohibited during the period  to ensure the safe spawning of the popular fish during its peak breeding period.  The ban will remain in place till October 28, Public Relations Officer of the Fisheries and Livestock Ministry, Iftekhar Hossain told UNB. Fisheries and Livestock Minister SM Rezaul Karim will inform in details over the restriction  at a press briefing on Thursday at the Secretariat, he said. The objective of the restriction on fishing is to save the mother hilsa which lays eggs during the period. According to the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, hilsa production jumped from 3 lakh mts in 2008-09 to 5 lakh mts in 2017-18 and its production touched 5.33 lakh mts in 2019 thanks to the government for its various steps taken to give a boost to its output. Bangladesh’s over 12.0 per cent fish production comes from hilsa, posting the highest contribution to the country’s fish output as a single fish species. Hilsa, the national fish of Bangladesh, is recognized as a certified patented product of Bangladesh. The marine fish flies to rivers in Bangladesh to lay eggs. The fish is very popular both in Bangladesh and West Bengal. About 75 percent 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 because of its extremely pleasing taste.

Twelve fishermen were jailed for various terms in Chandpur on Tuesday for catching hilsa flouting the ongoing fishing ban.

Hilsa fishing resumed here early Friday as two-month ban on catching and selling of the national fish ended.   Some 51,190 listed fishermen of the district went to the Meghan River early Friday for catching hilsa.   Dr Anisur Rahman, a researcher of Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute, Chandpur, said this year the production of Hilsa will be increased due to the timely initiative of the authorities concerned to protect jatka.   Last year  5.33 lakh metric tonnes were produced and this years the authorities concerned has set a target to produce 5.50 lakh metric tons of hilsa, he said.   The two-month government ban on catching, selling and transporting of Hilsa began on March 1.   A 90-kilometre stretch of the Padma and Meghna rivers here turned into a sanctuary for Hilsa after the ban came into effect.   The ban was strictly maintained in six sanctuaries, said Md Asadul Baki, district fisheries officer.   The sanctuaries are- 100 km in the Meghna River from Chandpur’s Shatnol to Laxmipur’s Char Alaxandar, 90km in Shahbazpur Channel in Bhola, 100 km in Tentulia River in Bhola, 40 km in Andharmanik River in Patuakhali, 20 km at lower Padma (Padma confluence) in Shariatpur, and 83 km in the Meghna River (from Hizla to Mehendiganj) in Barisal.   Hilsa has the highest contribution in the country's fish production as the single fish species. More than 12.09 percent of the country's fish production comes from Hilsa.