The 22-day ban on catching hilsa ends at midnight on Monday. From 12 midnight fishermen will be free to catch hilsa again.

The ban began at 12 midnight on 3 October to protect breeding. As in every year, riverside communities saw hilsa caught in defiance of the ban, and attacks on officials who tried to stop it, among other incidents.

The Barishal divisional office of the Department of Fisheries claims it was 90 per cent successful in enforcing the ban. Leaders of fishermen's organisations disagree.

According to the Department of Fisheries, more drives were carried out this year than last. Far fewer fishermen, however, were jailed for catching hilsa than last year.

Nazmus Salehin, assistant director of the Barishal divisional fisheries office, said that up to Saturday, 615 fishermen in the division's six districts had been jailed for various terms during the 22-day ban and Tk 18 lakh collected in fines. Eight lakh tonnes of hilsa and 54 lakh metres of net were seized. This year, 2,505 drives were carried out in the past 20 days. Last year, he said, 2,505 drives over the 22 days led to 1,133 people being jailed in the division.

Even on Sunday, the 21st day of the ban, hilsa were reported being caught freely in the Meghna, Arial Khan, Sandhya, Kirtankhola and Kalabadar rivers in Barishal.

Hilsa fisheries officer Bimal Chandra Das said 15 maunds of hilsa were seized from a house in Rajapur village of Sayestabad in Sadar upazila on Sunday.

Anwar Hossain Sikder, central general secretary of the Jatiya Khudra Matshyajibi Samiti (national small fishers' association), said the ban was no more than 60 per cent successful over the 22 days. This year hilsa were caught recklessly in the Meghna in Barishal during the ban, he said. Several incidents took place during drives, including attacks on the Mehendiganj upazila nirbahi officer and on a Coast Guard vessel in Hizla.

Iqbal Matubbar, joint secretary general of the Jatiya Matshyajibi Samiti and general secretary of the Hizla upazila Awami League, said the administration did try to stop hilsa fishing, but it could not fully succeed because riverside elected representatives did not cooperate. In particular, he said, several representatives who own fish landing ghats in Hizla and Mehendiganj were as reckless this year as in every year.

Anisur Rahman, deputy director of the Barishal divisional fisheries office, said seasonal fishermen and union parishad chairmen and members were involved in this year's attacks in Hizla and Mehendiganj. A Coast Guard member fell into the Meghna and died during a drive in Hizla, and a fisheries officer was attacked in the same upazila. The UNO was attacked in Mehendiganj, and a land officer in Babuganj and the UNO in Jhalakathi were also attacked. Law enforcers are filing cases to identify those involved and are reporting to the ministry. Despite all these difficulties, the official claimed, 90 per cent of mother hilsa were protected this year.

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