Hilsa has not been seen in Chandpur two weeks.Hilsa has not been seen for almost two weeks after the ban on protection of Jatka in Hilsa sanctuary for two months in March-April. The fishermen are extremely disappointed not to get hilsa. They have now lifted their boats and nets ashore. Chandpur fishing ground is also without hilsa.
Hamid, a fisherman from Ibrahimpur Union in Chandpur Sadar, said, “After the ban, I went hunting for hilsa in Meghna with 8 people after 12 midnight on April 30.” The hilsa I got till morning has been sold for 5 thousand taka. But our costs have been even higher. For this I have anchored the boat.
Laxmipur Model Union fisherman of the same upazila. Harunur Rashid and Shahjahan Sheikh said, one day after the ban, I went to collect hilsa. I am not going down now as I have not got hilsa In the two months since the ban, unscrupulous fishermen have come from outside Chandpur to procure all kinds of fish, including jatka. Now the number of fish in the river is very low. We have to work very hard to run our family because we don’t have fish.
Mamun Tapadar and Joynal Bepari, owners of fishing boats in Sakhua village, said that in addition to the ban, the production of nets should be stopped. The government will have to enact laws to ban the nets that destroy small river reeds. The government’s ban will be successful if unscrupulous fishermen are not given a chance to kill Jatka. Hilsa production will increase.
Chandpur District Fisheries Officer Mohammad Asadul Baki said hilsa roams in safe river areas. The manner in which the fishermen killed the jatka when they caught the net together during the ban is not like expressing it in words. If the fishermen give the small hilsa a chance to grow, then they and the countrymen will get this benefit.
Chandpur Correspondent, May 12,2020