A 58-day ban on fishing in the Bay of Bengal, to protect jatka (young hilsa) and boost hilsa production, begins at midnight tonight. All kinds of fishing at sea will be halted during this period. Fishers are pleased that, as they had long demanded, the ban now runs at the same time as India's.

To allow 475 species of marine fish to breed freely and to protect jatka, the ban in Bangladesh's waters used to run from 20 May to 23 July, while India enforced its ban on Indian fishers from 15 April to 13 June. So while Bangladeshi fishers sat idle during their ban, Indian fishers roamed Bangladesh's waters. Bangladeshi fishers had been demanding that the ban period be aligned with India's, and after a long time that demand has been met. The Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock has issued a new notification on the ban period.

From this year the government has set the ban from 15 April to 11 June. Indian fishers will no longer get a one-sided advantage, and Bangladesh's ban will be two days shorter than its neighbour's.

Md Rabbani, a fisher from Mohipur in Kalapara upazila of Patuakhali, told Jagonews24: "Our long-standing demand was that Indians stop fishing during the ban. This year this government has met that demand, and we thank the government very much. Not only that, our ban will end two days before theirs. This is a big gain for our fishers."

Yusub Company, a fish trader at Alipur bazar, said: "Fishers in coastal areas have been suffering from the aggression of Indian fishers. This time that suffering has ended. From today we will not go to sea. Our fishers will turn to other work to survive. But I request the government to make sure no one from our country or India can fish illegally."

Meanwhile, with fish scarce at sea, many fishers are returning empty-handed even before the ban. During this time, fishers in the declared ban areas on the Patuakhali coast will receive incentives: 86kg of rice, given twice over 65 days. Fishers say this support is far too little for their needs.

Abul Kalam Azad, a fisher from Hossain Para in the Kuakata area, told Jagonews24: "We fishers really cannot do any work other than fishing. Each of our families has five or six members. Just 86kg of rice is very little for us. I request the government to increase our incentive a little."

According to Prof Dr Md Sajedul Haque of the Fisheries Technology department at Patuakhali Science and Technology University, the government's new timing is certainly reasonable, because the advantage Indian fishers used to take is no longer possible. Bangladeshi fishers will now be able to fish before Indian fishers, which will strengthen the economy and help the fishing profession survive.

Kalapara upazila senior fisheries officer Apu Saha said campaigns are under way across the coastal area and at Alipur-Mohipur, Patuakhali's big fish landing centre, to enforce the ban and raise public awareness. Those who defy the government decision will face punishment including jail and fines. The government's incentive will be delivered to registered fishers during the ban.

Kalapara upazila has 18,304 registered fishers, but more than 30,000 fishers in all. Unregistered fishers are demanding that the government bring them under the benefit too.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.