River police have detained 55 fishers in separate drives in the Chandpur river region over the past 24 hours for catching hilsa in defiance of the ban. From them, 137 kg of hilsa, 3 lakh 97 thousand 200 metres of current net and eight engine-driven fishing boats were seized.

Imtiaz Ahmed, assistant superintendent of the river police Chandpur region, confirmed the information on the morning of Sunday, 20 October.

According to the river police, mobile courts sentenced 18 fishers to jail terms of various lengths and fined eight people Tk 28,000. Ten fishers were released on bond because they were minors, and five cases were filed under the fisheries law against the rest.

Imtiaz Ahmed said the district task force's regular drives to protect mother hilsa are continuing, with executive magistrates, river police, the Coast Guard and the fisheries department running separate drives on the river around the clock. The seized fish were distributed to local orphanages and the current nets were burnt.

To protect mother hilsa, the government has banned all fishing on the river for 22 days, from 13 October to 3 November. Anyone going on the river to fish during the ban faces up to two years in jail, a Tk 5,000 fine, or both. The fisheries department, river police and other authorities are continuing drives to enforce the order.

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