After a long 22-day ban during the main hilsa breeding season, about three lakh fishermen in Bhola are preparing to go back out on the Meghna and Tentulia rivers. They have already begun preparing and repairing nets, boats, trawlers and other gear. The fishermen hope to catch the hilsa they need once the ban ends and get back on their feet.

In the Bholar Khal area of Shibpur union, Bhola Sadar upazila, at midday on Friday (October 24), fishermen in the fishing village were in full swing preparing to catch hilsa after the ban. Some were buying and preparing new nets. Some were building new trawlers and boats and getting them ready at the last minute. Others were repairing old nets, boats and trawlers. The fishermen were due to go out on the rivers after 12 midnight on October 25, when the ban ends.

Local fishermen Sumon Majhi and Sohel Majhi said they were ready to go out for hilsa at the end of the government's 22-day ban. They had borrowed money to buy new nets and repair old trawlers, and will repay the loans if they catch the hilsa they need.

Fishermen Khalil Majhi and Zakir Majhi of the same area said: "During the ban we got 25 kg of rice each from the government. Everything else we had to buy. With our income stopped, we had to borrow to run our households. We couldn't pay our NGO instalments during the ban either. We are waiting for the ban to end."

Abul Kalam Majhi and Nur Uddin Majhi said that last year, after the ban, they caught a good amount of hilsa for two or three days on the river, but after that there was no hilsa to be seen. That made last year very hard, and they have still not repaid that year's debts. If they do not catch enough hilsa this time too, there will be no end to their hardship.

Bhola District Fisheries Officer Iqbal Hossain said he hopes the fishermen will catch the hilsa they expect after the ban and be able to recover by paying off their past debts.

He said that during the 22 days of the ban, more than 200 fishermen were detained on the Meghna and Tentulia rivers across Bhola's seven upazilas, and a large quantity of hilsa and nets were seized. More than 100 of those fishermen were jailed or fined.

Because it is the main hilsa breeding season, the government banned catching hilsa and all other fish on the Meghna and Tentulia rivers in Bhola from October 4 until 12 midnight on October 25. By unofficial count there are about three lakh fishermen in Bhola's seven upazilas, of whom about 1 lakh 70 thousand are officially registered.

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