The 22-day fishing ban given by the government to protect mother Hilsa ends on Friday midnight. The fishermen of Baufal Upazila have made all kinds of preparations to go down to the river for Hilsa hunting again. They will go out to collect Hilsa in the river and sea at midnight.
To keep the mother Hilsa breeding season safe, the government issued a ban on hunting, buying and selling, transporting and stocking Hilsa in rivers and seas for 22 days from October 7 to October 28. About 6,000 jailers of the upazila became unemployed. Long hours were spent repairing boats and trawlers and weaving nets.
On Thursday morning, fishermen are busy repairing boats and nets in Char-Kalaiya area of the upazila. Someone is weaving a web again. Some are repairing trawlers in groups. They are making all preparations to return to the river after the ban of 22 days.
Char-Kalaiya village fisherman of Kalaiya Union. Al-Amin (35) said, 'I was unemployed during the 22-day ban. Had to spend days with family members. I will fish again from tomorrow. Suffering will end.
Chandradwip Union’s angler Nazrul Majhi (40) said, we do not go down to the river during the siege. Obey the ban. After the ban, I will go down to the river again.
Mokhlesh Sardar of Keshavpur Union said, "All preparations are over." I will travel to the sea after the siege is over.
However, on the 22nd day of the ban, a group of unscrupulous fishermen and a gang of brokers killed mother Hilsa in the Tentulia River. It is alleged that some local brokers managed to hunt Hilsa in the river by paying huge sums of money to the naval police.
Upazila Fisheries Officer Mahbub Alam Talukdar said, "For 22 days, the operation of the fisheries department and the naval police was going on in the river to save the Hilsa fish." Also, we have implemented various programs to make the fishermen aware of the protection of mother Hilsa. Then some unscrupulous anglers went down the river. We arrested them and sent them to jail. I burned the net and destroyed it.