To protect mother hilsa, the government has decided to halt the catching, transport, marketing and storage of hilsa from 13 October to 3 November, based on the scientifically determined breeding period and the full moon of the Bengali month of Ashwin.

Fisheries and Livestock Adviser Farida Akhter told journalists this at a meeting at the Secretariat on Sunday, 22 September.

The adviser said: "Hilsa is extremely important in Bangladesh. The days for conserving this fish are set scientifically. To protect hilsa, scientists fix the dates in line with the full moon and new moon. At today's meeting we all agreed on the dates: it has been decided to halt all hilsa catching, transport, marketing and storage for 22 days, from 13 October to 3 November."

Meanwhile, the fisheries and livestock adviser said the Commerce Ministry had permitted hilsa exports at India's special request for Durga Puja.

She said: "The Commerce Ministry gave it (the export approval) independently. They gave it in response to a request. There was a special request on the occasion of Durga Puja in India, and they acted accordingly. I cannot force them on that."

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