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.

Looking for hilsa? No worries it is coming back!    Fishermen are taking preparations to resume hilsa netting as a 22-day ban imposed by the government comes to an end Monday midnight. Besides catching, the ban was imposed on selling, hoarding and transporting the fish until October 25 to ensure safe spawning of the national fish during its peak breeding period. The law enforcers seized huge mother hilsa and fishing nets, trawlers in different parts of the country for catching hilsa defying the ban. Read: Fishing trawler hits UNO’s speedboat during Hilsa ban drive in Barishal Fisheries Department, upazila and district administrations, police and coast guard personnel carried out regular drives to make sure that the ban is implemented strictly. The decision of imposing the ban was taken at a meeting of the National Taskforce held in September with Fisheries and Livestock Minister SM Rezaul Karim in the chair. During the meeting, the minister said the government will take strict action against those involved in harming the national interest of the country. The objective of the restriction is to save mother hilsa which lays eggs during the period. The peak hilsa season is during the Monsoon months of August, September and October. Read: Kitchen markets in Dhaka take the heat from 22-day Hilsa ban 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.  In 2019, hilsa production rose to 5.33 lakh mts. The ministry has taken different measures to boost its production to 6 lakh mts in the current fiscal. Hilsa has the highest contribution to the country’s fish production as the single fish species. More than 12.0 per cent of the country’s fish production comes from hilsa.

Kitchen markets in Dhaka saw huge crowds of Hilsa lovers on Sunday evening as they rushed to buy the delicious fish ahead of a 22-day ban on its catching, selling, hoarding and transporting. Many of the customers, however, retuned home empty as most of the sellers of the popular fish ran out of their stocks by 10 PM due to its high demand and supply crunch. Read: 22-day ban on Hilsa fishing begins Sunday midnight Talking to UNB, some Hilsa traders at Karwan Bazar said this season saw its higher prices due to its short supply and large volumes of export. “The demand was very high, even well before the restriction period, due to the short supply,” said Kamrul Hasan, a fish trader. The government has given a go-ahead to 52 companies to export 2,080 tonnes of Hilsa to India by October 10, ahead of Durga Puja, the largest festival of the Hindu community. The government had banned the Hilsa export to India in 2012 but it approved the export of 500 tonnes of the fish in 2019 and 475 tonnes in 2020. The 22-day Hilsa ban took effect on Sunday midnight as it is aimed at ensuring the safe spawning of the popular fish during its peak breeding period. The ban will remain in place till October 25. Read: Durga Puja: 23 tonnes of Hilsa sent to India through Benapole Fisheries Department, upazila and district administrations, police and coast guard personnel will carry out regular drives to make sure that the ban is implemented strictly. Aminul Islam, district fisheries officer of Laxmipur, told UNB that there are around 52,000 fishermen in his district and 3,000 of them are registered. They will get around 40 kg food aid as compensation during this restriction period, he said. Meanwhile, the district administration was seen campaigning along riversides to make the fishermen aware about the importance of the government decision. Read:Govt to consult experts to boost Hilsa production: Dipu Moni On Sunday, Raunak Mahmud, secretary of the fisheries and livestock ministry, said some 1,118.068 metric tons of VGF rice has been allocated for 555,944  fishermen families in 36 districts where the  ban on selling and fishing Hilsa will be enforced. According to Protection and Conservation of Fish Rules, 1985, fishermen not abiding by the ban can be punished with a minimum of 1 to maximum of 2 years’ rigorous imprisonment or be fined up to TK 5,000.

Detectives arrested four people from Narail for catching hilsa during the 22-day ban on fishing.