58-day fishing ban in Bay to end at midnight

Fishermen are set to resume fishing as the 58-day ban on catching, selling and transporting fish in the Bay of Bengal will end at midnight (12 June).

The fishermen are now busy preparing nets and boats to go to the sea to catch Hilsa fish in different parts of the country.

The government had imposed a ban on all types of fishing in the country's marine waters for 58 days from 15 April, which will end at midnight.

This year, the restriction on fishing in the Bay of Bengal was set for 58 days instead of the previous 65 days, said Fisheries and Livestock Adviser Farida Akhter while speaking at a press briefing held at the Secretariat in February.

She said that the ban on fishing all types of fish, shrimp, crab, lobster and other crustaceans was initially imposed to increase the production of Hilsa and other fish species in the Bay of Bengal.

The 65-day ban, which had been in place for many year,s resulted in a record increase of 12.78% in marine fishery resources, she said.

Due to a lack of coordination with neighbouring countries during the ban period, fishermen from those countries have been taking advantage of Bangladesh's fish harvest, said the adviser.

Fishing organisations and fishermen demanded a more coordinated approach to the ban period, she added.

"Following their demand, a technical committee was formed, consisting of experts from the Department of Fisheries, Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute, and other stakeholders.

The committee decided to impose a 58-day fishing ban from 15 April to 11 June, as this is the breeding period for most commercially important fish in the Bay of Bengal."