The 65-day ban on fishing in the sea ended at midnight on Tuesday, 23 July. Fishermen who work close to the coast have already gone to sea with their gear, but because the sea is rough, deep-sea fishermen are still sitting on shore. Bad weather arrived almost as soon as the 65-day ban ended, and on top of that there is a nationwide curfew. All in all, the fishermen are frustrated.

The fisheries department banned fishing for 65 days, from 20 May to 23 July, so that marine fish could breed and be conserved undisturbed. But fisheries researchers allege that Indian fishermen and influential local fishermen kept fishing during the ban, and say this misuse of the law has become a serious obstacle to breeding and conservation.

About 30,000 fishermen on the coast are anxious about whether they will find hilsa after the long ban. Fish wholesalers and trawler owners say they have spent lakhs of taka repairing trawlers and buying equipment in the hope of catching hilsa in shoals, and are waiting to send them to sea. Only if they find the silver hilsa will they be able to repay their earlier debts.

Delwar Hossain, skipper of the trawler FB Nurbhanu, told Jago News: "I sat at home during the 65-day ban. I made new nets and repaired the trawler. Can a family live on the rice the government gives? I borrowed Tk 20,000 at interest to eat. If there are no fish after the ban, what will I repay it with?"

Russell Molla, owner of the trawler Raihan, told Jago News that fishermen did not go fishing during the ban, "but influential fishermen from different parts of the country and Indian fishermen are catching the fish. Then why should we suffer?"

Mizanur Rahman, director of the "Saat Fish" wholesale depot at Alipur fish port, told Jago News that hundreds of people work in this trade at their landing centre. "Everyone is in high spirits, hoping for silver hilsa. But as soon as the 65 days ended the sea turned rough, and now the fishermen are ready but sitting idle."

Sagarika Smriti, associate researcher with the ECOFISH-II Bangladesh project of WorldFish, which works on the blue economy, coastal environment and biodiversity, told Jago News that the 65-day ban is essentially for the breeding and conservation of marine fish. "But during this time fishermen fished the sea freely. So on one hand they received the government allocation, and on the other the marine fish were not conserved. If this continues, fish will keep disappearing from the sea."

Apu Saha, senior fisheries officer of Kalapara upazila, said each registered fisherman is to receive 85 kg of rice for the 65-day ban. Many have already received 56 kg, and the rest is a little delayed because of the curfew. During the ban, fines and the auction of seized fish raised about Tk 20 lakh. More fishermen will soon be brought under registration. He said the administration was active during the ban, but many dishonest fishermen still tried to fish.

Mahbuba Sukhi, the Patuakhali district meteorological officer, said weather forecasts could not be obtained properly because the internet is shut down in the country. Until yesterday, however, the sea was rough with the full-moon tide, and local warning signal No. 3 had been hoisted, so all vessels at sea have been told to move with caution.

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