River police ran a special drive on the Padma and Meghna in Chandpur to protect mother hilsa during the main breeding season. Eighteen fishermen were detained for fishing in defiance of the ban.

They were detained in a 24-hour drive that ran until dawn on Wednesday, 8 October. The river police's Chandpur region media cell gave the information on Wednesday morning.

According to the river police, 18 fishermen were detained in drives in the Chandpur region over the past 24 hours. Also seized were 44 lakh 11 thousand metres of net, 323 kg of hilsa and nine fishing boats.

The drive was led by the river police superintendent for the Chandpur region, Syed Moshfiqur Rahman. District fisheries officer Sribas Chandra Chanda, senior upazila fisheries officer Mirza Omar Faruk and the officer in charge of Chandpur river police station, A K M S Iqbal, were present.

Syed Moshfiqur Rahman said: "We have stepped up round-the-clock patrols on the river and are taking a very strict stance. This 22-day special drive to protect mother hilsa will continue until 25 October. Legal action will be taken against anyone who breaks the ban during this time."

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