Mother hilsa are being caught freely in the Sugandha river in Jhalakathi despite the ban. The driver of the trawler the Department of Fisheries uses for its drives is accused of leading efforts to help fishermen catch fish in exchange for money.
At midday on Tuesday (22 October), hundreds of fishing dinghies and engine-driven trawlers were seen roaming the whole river. Fishermen are alleged to be catching hilsa freely by "managing" some dishonest people within the hilsa protection teams, who, for favours, pass on news of upcoming drives. The fishermen are thus warned in advance and return to the river with nets once the drive team leaves. Genuine fishermen claim that most of those fishing in defiance of the ban are seasonal fishermen.
Boatmen accused
Several sources involved in hilsa fishing say multiple teams from the administration and fisheries department run drives on the river using fast trawlers and speedboats. The boatmen of these trawlers pass news of drives to fishermen, and some of the boatmen on drives are themselves involved in catching and selling hilsa.
Two of them are Goutam, trawler driver for the Nalchity fisheries office, and Suman Majhi, trawler driver for the Jhalakathi fisheries department. Fisheries officers go on drives in their trawlers. They are alleged to take money from fishermen and leak news of drives in advance. Goutam is also alleged to be involved in catching, selling and smuggling hilsa.
The trawler drivers Goutam and Suman denied the allegations. "Fisheries officers are with us. We don't take money from any fisherman to tip them off. False allegations have been made against us," they said.
Nalchity upazila fisheries officer Ramoni Kumar Mistri said nobody has a chance to make phone calls once a drive is under way. Asked why the same trawler driver has been used on drives for five years, he said: "Goutam is taken because his trawler is faster."
District fisheries officer Rabiul Islam said the trawler drivers will be removed from duty if specific complaints are received against them.
Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.
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