Ahmed Abu Zafar, chairman of the trustee board of the Bangladesh Mofussil Journalists Forum, has proposed that every fisher's boat and net in hilsa breeding areas be deposited with the authorities by 5 October to protect the stock. He made the proposal on Saturday afternoon at a discussion on protecting hilsa, held with a hilsa festival by the Mirpur Press Club in Dhaka.

He asked that boats and nets of all fishers, registered or not, be taken in at the fisheries officer's office in each upazila nirbahi officer's compound.

The Department of Fisheries should impose a strict ban on any fishing boat or net moving on rivers in hilsa breeding areas from 8 to 29 October, he said. If it is enforced, he claimed, people would no longer pay Tk 1,500-2,000 a kilo for hilsa and could buy it for Tk 150.

Protecting hilsa is not the administration's job alone, he said; everyone must keep watch. Mirpur Press Club general secretary Zakaria Sohag and others also spoke.

A new 27-member committee of the Mirpur Press Club for 2026-2029 was announced at the same meeting.

Photo: Mamun2a / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.5)

Source: Our Islam