The Fisheries Department has announced a ban on fishing for 65 days from May 20 to July 23 to ensure uninterrupted breeding, propagation, stocking and conservation of all types of marine fish in the Bay of Bengal. The fishermen are worried about it.

All ocean-going mechanized non-mechanized vessels and commercial trawlers are returning to shore including fishing ports before midnight on May 19. In this situation, the family of fishermen who are collecting fish in the sea started crying.

The fishermen returning from the sea complained that the poor fishermen of the country are being deprived even though the Indian fishermen illegally intrude into the Bangladeshi waters and catch fish during the 65 days of ban on fishing every year.

Fisherman Sohrab Hossain of Baga village of Bagerhat and Maqbul Farjee of Chal Rayenda village said that there is a ban on fishing for 22 days every year during the hilsa breeding season. Again, if fishing is stopped for 65 days in the sea, fishermen and their families will have to face extreme financial hardship. Fishermen are worried about household expenses, payments and loan installments in 65 days. They think that this ban is nothing but kicking fishermen in the stomach.

They allege that Bangladesh is stopping fishing in the sea from the day the ban ends in India. Every year, Indian fishermen are taking fish during the ban in Bangladeshi waters. Fishermen in both countries demanded to stop fishing in the sea at the same time.

The President of the Coastal Fishermen’s Association, Sheikh Idris Ali, expressed extreme anger and said that the fishermen in the engine-driven wooden fishing trawlers from within 5 nautical miles of the coast with a legal net of 3.5 to 4.5 inches of mesh. And trawling fishing vessels use illegal gill nets to catch various species of small and large fish. They come close to the coast and hunt fish at a depth of 4 to 5 meters and destroy small fry. Fishermen on engine-driven wooden fishing trawlers catch with legal gill nets, but there is no monitoring by the Fisheries Department to stop illegal use of small gill nets by trawling fishing vessels. Bangladesh and India should stop fishing in the sea at the same time to ensure undisturbed breeding, propagation, stocking and conservation of fish in the sea.

Although there are 80,000 fishermen in Bagerhat district, the government is giving only 86 kg of rice to only 9,000 fishermen during the 65-day ban period. This fisherman leader also demanded that the government should give 200 kg of rice to every fisherman on the coast.

Bagerhat District Senior Fisheries Officer ASM Russell said that the government has issued a directive to stop fishing in the Bay of Bengal for 65 days from May 20 to July 23. Accordingly, all the fishermen, fishing boats and boat owners in the various unions and coastal areas of all the upazilas have already been informed. Fishermen have also been made aware and warned by miking posters, leaflets. Before midnight on May 19, all the fishermen of Bagerhat are returning to the coast along with fishing trawlers. The fisheries officer also said that the government is giving 86 kg of rice to 9 thousand seafaring fishermen of the district during the 65-day ban period.