A mobile court in Chandpur has sentenced nine fishermen to simple imprisonment for catching hilsa in defiance of the ban. The other five fishermen, being minors, were released on bonds.

Executive magistrate Md Asaduzzaman Sarkar ran the mobile court at around 8pm on Thursday (24 October).

Chandpur Sadar upazila assistant fisheries officer Md Mizanur Rahman said 14 fishermen were detained in day-long drives in the Meghna sanctuary area. Five were sentenced to seven days and four to 10 days of rigorous imprisonment. The remaining five, being minors, were released into their guardians' custody on bonds.

Three engine-driven boats, 35,000 metres of illegal current net and 33 kg of hilsa were also seized from the fishermen. The current nets were burnt at the Coast Guard's Chandpur station, and the seized hilsa was distributed to local orphanages.

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