The fisheries department has seized a large quantity of jatka (young hilsa) from a passenger launch on the Meghna river in Matlab Uttar, Chandpur. The drive was carried out with the help of the Bangladesh Coast Guard in the Mohanpur area at 7pm on Friday, 5 December.

A search of the Dhaka-bound passenger launch MV Noria-5 recovered 2,500kg of jatka. The fish was later distributed among local orphanages and poor families.

The drive was led by senior upazila fisheries officer Bijoy Kumar Das. Md Sanowar Hossain, contingent commander of the Coast Guard's Mohanpur outpost, and upazila fisheries office staff member Imam Hossain were present.

Bijoy Kumar Das confirmed the seizure on Friday night. He said surveillance on rivers and roads had been stepped up during the government's jatka conservation campaign. Catching, transporting and selling jatka is completely banned, and strict action is being taken against those who break the law.

The fisheries officer added that the jatka conservation campaign will run from 1 November 2025 to 30 June 2026, and legal action will be taken if anyone is found catching or transporting jatka during that time. He urged everyone to support the administration in protecting future generations of hilsa.

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