The river police carried out a 22-day special drive on the country's rivers as part of the government's mother hilsa conservation programme. The drive, called Mother Hilsa Conservation Drive-2025, ran nationwide from October 4 to October 25.

During the drive, 3,173 offenders were arrested for illegally catching hilsa in defiance of the ban, and 1,221 vessels were seized.

The chief of the river police, Additional IGP Kusum Dewan, gave the figures on Sunday (October 26).

He said that catching, transporting, storing, buying, selling, processing, marketing and exchanging hilsa were completely banned during the drive. The river police ran an all-out operation to enforce the ban, which the government declares for the breeding season of mother hilsa.

At the start of the drive, awareness work was carried out among fishermen, traders and local people, including distributing leaflets, holding meetings and running publicity campaigns. Round-the-clock patrols and operations on the rivers were also stepped up.

During the drive, 61 crore 78 lakh 25,383 metres of net used for illegal hilsa fishing were recovered, 62,644 kg of hilsa were seized, 1,221 vessels were seized and 3,173 offenders were arrested. In addition, 534 cases were filed and 1,051 mobile courts were conducted. The guilty were fined or jailed.

Of those arrested, 674 were minors and were handed over to their guardians. The recovered fish were distributed to local orphanages and people in need, and the seized illegal nets were burnt.

Although the river police met resistance from fishermen in some areas, they held firm and took legal action. According to those involved, the drive has raised awareness of mother hilsa conservation and hilsa production in the rivers is increasing.

The river police said they will continue regular operations throughout the year to make the government's initiative a success, so that the country's hilsa resources can be protected sustainably.

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