The government will observe Jatka Conservation Week from 7 to 13 April, fisheries and livestock minister Mohammad Amin Ur Rashid has said.

He announced this at a press conference at the Secretariat on Monday ahead of Jatka Conservation Week 2026. Fisheries and livestock state minister Sultan Salahuddin Tuku was also present.

The minister said coordinated national programmes were run every year to ensure sustainable hilsa production. As in previous years, Jatka Conservation Week 2026 will be held from 7 to 13 April to raise awareness among fishermen, hilsa traders, wholesalers, consumers and the public at large.

This year's theme is "If we stop catching jatka, the seas and rivers will fill with hilsa". The week will be observed in 20 hilsa-rich districts, with a three-day central programme and suitable programmes at district and upazila level. The opening ceremony will be held in Chandpur Sadar on 7 April.

Outlining the government's work to protect and develop hilsa, the minister listed:

• a ban on all fishing in the Bay of Bengal and adjoining areas from 15 April to 11 June (58 days);
• national awareness programmes to protect jatka and mother hilsa;
• a 22-day ban on hilsa fishing in the breeding season, with the timing set on a scientific basis;
• a complete ban on catching, transporting and selling jatka from 1 November to 30 June;
• six hilsa sanctuaries, with fishing stopped there at set times;
• VGF food aid and alternative livelihoods for fishermen;
• a marine protected area declared over 3,188 square kilometres;
• the Sustainable Coastal and Marine Fisheries project, amendment of the fish protection law, and the Hilsa Resource Development project.

The minister said one of the main obstacles to higher hilsa production was the indiscriminate killing of jatka with illegal nets, including current nets and behundi nets. Along with awareness campaigns, law enforcement is being stepped up and special combing operations are being run continuously to destroy illegal and harmful nets. In January and February this year a 30-day special combing operation was carried out in 96 upazilas of 18 districts.

He said a 15-day special combing operation was run in 79 upazilas in March, and drives will continue across the country until June.

The minister said the government had considerably increased VGF food aid for fishermen to protect jatka. Every year 367,000 fishing households receive 40 kg a month for four months, a total of 58,720 tonnes of VGF rice. In the breeding season 619,312 fishing households received 25 kg each, a total of 15,482 tonnes of food aid. For alternative livelihoods, heifer calves, other inputs and trade-based training are being provided through the Hilsa Resource Development and Management project.

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