District Fisheries Officer Golam Mehedi Hasan has expressed hope that Chandpur will produce six lakh tonnes of hilsa this year.

He said the two-month drive in March and April in the Chandpur sanctuary area, under the Hilsa Resources Development and Management Project, was strictly enforced. Fishermen were not allowed to go out on the river, so jatka (young hilsa) were able to pass Chandpur and return to the sea. "Because the drive was carried out jointly, we hope the target of six lakh tonnes of hilsa will be produced this time," he said.

He spoke to journalists after the district task force conducted a drive from morning to noon on Thursday (25 April) at the confluence of the three rivers in the town and nearby areas.

Fisheries officer Golam Mehedi said that this year drives were conducted day and night with 10 speedboats under the overall supervision of Molla Emdadullah, project director of the Hilsa Resources Development and Management Project. Even during Ramadan, the district and upazila administrations, fisheries department officials and staff, the Coast Guard and the river police stayed on the river, so fishermen from other districts could not go out. Fishermen who defied the ban and went on the river anyway were brought to book through mobile courts, he said.

During the drive, the district fisheries officer talked to fishermen in the Ananda Bazar fishing village in Sadar.

Chandpur Sadar Upazila Senior Fisheries Officer Tanjimul Islam, Assistant Fisheries Officer Mizanur Rahman, Jamil Hossain, and Coast Guard and river police officers and members took part in the drive.

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