Egg-bearing Mrigal found dead in Halda, injury marks raise concerns of fishing attempt defying restrictions

A mature, egg-bearing Mrigal fish (Cirrhinus cirrhosus) was found dead in the Halda River on Thursday, raising concerns over the safety of the country's only natural carp breeding ground. 

The dead fish, a type of carp, weighing approximately six kilograms, was recovered around 12:00 pm from the Azimer Ghat area of West Gujra Union in Chattogram's Raozan upazila by local river volunteers.

"This is a breeding mother fish, and it had nearly 750 grams of ripe eggs. From this amount, about 150,000 fry could have been produced," said Alamgir Hossain, senior fisheries officer of Raozan Upazila. 

This is a breeding mother fish, and it had nearly 750 grams of ripe eggs. From this amount, about 150,000 fry could have been produced, fisheries officer says. Photo: Courtesy

He added that the fish appeared to have been fatally injured with a sharp object, similar to another dead katla fish weighing 5kg that was recovered from the same area on 4 May.

After a preliminary examination on-site, the fish was buried near Azimer Ghat. 

In June and July last year, six large mother fish and three dolphins were found dead in the river within a span of just 12 days.

Locals have alleged that illegal fishing activities, including netting, persist due to lax enforcement and limited presence of the police.

"We conduct joint operations weekly with the upazila administration and the fisheries department. We respond based on CCTV alerts," said Sub-Inspector Muhammad Habibur Rahman, in charge of the Halda Naval police outpost. 

"But to fully protect the river, we need more manpower and adequate fuel allocation for patrol speed boats."

The Halda River, known for naturally bred carp species, had fishing restrictions imposed in 2007 and 2010, with a 20km stretch from Sattarghat to Madunaghat being declared a sanctuary in 2007. 

In 2010, the then government prohibited all types of fishing in the Halda River. 

In December 2020, the government declared the Halda River and its surrounding land as "Bangabandhu Fisheries Heritage," further restricting fishing and other activities that could harm the river's ecosystem.

311 people held, illegal fishing nets seized in countrywide drives

A total of 311 people have been arrested during countrywide drives conducted by the River Police over the past seven days, aimed at protecting the country's fish resources and ensuring safety on waterways, reports UNB.

According to the River Police headquarters, 29,806,610 meters of illegal fishing nets, 5,237 kilograms of fish, and 17,000 shrimp fry were seized. 

Legal actions were also taken against 71 bulkheads for not having valid documents and three dredgers were also seized.

A total of 88 cases were filed during the operations, including 68 related to fisheries, one drug case, seven, seven unnatural death cases, one murder case, two cases related to sand extraction, one under the Special Powers Act, and one involving women and children.

Eight bodies were recovered during the period.

The seized illegal fishing nets were destroyed and  the recovered fish were distributed to orphanages, and the shrimp fry were released back into the water, said the River Police.