22-day nationwide ban on hilsa fishing starts midnight
The Department of Fisheries has formed monitoring teams at divisional and upazila levels to enforce the ban through mobile courts and field operations.
Hilsa fishing will remain banned across Bangladesh's rivers and marine waters for 22 days, starting midnight (4 October), to protect hilsa during its peak breeding season.
The Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock issued a circular, signed by Deputy Secretary Shaida Akter Parag, announcing the ban.
The circular states that, in order to ensure safe movement and spawning of mother hilsa during its peak breeding season, all types of fishing vessels are prohibited from catching, transporting, storing, marketing, buying, selling, or exchanging hilsa and all other species of fish in Bangladesh's marine fishing zones from 4 October to 25 October.
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The Department of Fisheries has formed monitoring teams at divisional and upazila levels to enforce the ban through mobile courts and field operations. Reports will be submitted daily to a central control room.
Authorities including the Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), police, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), and local administrations will coordinate enforcement. Awareness campaigns such as miking, rallies, and meetings in fishing villages will also be carried out to ensure compliance.
The government has also planned discussions with trawler owners, fish traders, transport associations, and other stakeholders to strengthen monitoring and implementation of the ban.
