With little surveillance by the administration in the hilsa sanctuaries, jatka are being caught freely. In the Meghna at Hijla and Mehendiganj and the Kirtankhola in Sadar upazila, all within the sixth sanctuary, jatka are being caught almost openly.

A two-month ban on catching hilsa and all other fish is in force in the sanctuaries. But a month into the ban, no one catching jatka has been brought to book.

According to the Barishal divisional fisheries department, in the first month of the ban last year (March), 880 drives were carried out in 15 upazilas of three districts in the division. Seventy-four mobile courts jailed 36 fishermen, and 2.239 tonnes of jatka were seized.

This March, the fisheries department carried out 644 drives in 14 upazilas of the three districts. Although 68 mobile courts were held, no fisherman was punished. Yet 6.635 tonnes of jatka were seized in the division last month, 4.396 tonnes more than last year.

Those concerned believe jatka killing in the sanctuaries has increased because of the administration's negligence, which is why more jatka were seized this year than last. This has raised doubts about meeting the hilsa production target.

According to the district fisheries department, in the first month last year 203 drives were carried out in three upazilas of Barishal, and 16 mobile courts jailed 12 fishermen. Some 0.393 tonnes of jatka were seized at the time.

This year, 213 drives were carried out in those three upazilas in the first month. Although 29 mobile courts were held, no fisherman was punished. Yet 4.72 tonnes of jatka were seized in the past month, 4.327 tonnes more than last year.

Faruk, a fisherman in Tungibaria union of Sadar upazila, said: "The government imposes a ban and we obey it, but we don't properly get the rice allocation we are supposed to get during the ban. So we are forced to go to the river. If we don't catch fish, what will we eat?"

Md Kamrul Hasan, director (additional charge) of the Barishal divisional fisheries department, said more work had been done this year than last under the ongoing two-month ban to protect hilsa in the sanctuaries.

Barishal district fisheries officer Dr Md Hadiuzzaman said work to enforce the two-month ban and protect jatka in the sanctuaries was continuing. The larger seizures of jatka this year showed that hilsa production would increase, he said.

He said fishermen in the sanctuaries were not usually punished much, which was why no fisherman had been jailed this year. But there was surveillance at Hijla and Mehendiganj, the main spots of the sixth sanctuary, he said.

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