To enforce the ban on fishing that protects mother hilsa, the fisheries department cut the electricity supply to 16 ice factories in Patharghata upazila of Barguna district on the night of Friday 3 October 2025. That same night officials seized a fishing trawler that was being loaded with ice to go to sea. Md Hasibul Haque, the senior upazila fisheries officer of Patharghata, confirmed the action to Jagonews24 at noon on Saturday 4 October.
Why the ice factories lost power
According to the upazila fisheries office, many fishermen ignore the ban and head out to sea with their trawlers loaded with ice. Because of that concern, the power connections of 16 ice factories in different parts of Patharghata, all supplied by Palli Bidyut, the rural electricity network, were cut temporarily. The fisheries office said the connections would be restored on the night of 24 October.
Md Hasibul Haque told Jagonews24 that the office had taken all-out measures to enforce the ban, and that the 16 factories were disconnected with the cooperation of the Upazila Nirbahi Officer, the officer-in-charge of Patharghata police station and Palli Bidyut officials.
A trawler seized with its ice
The fisheries department said it received a tip-off on Friday night that a trawler named FB Jahanara, owned by Dulal Company, was being loaded with ice to go to sea. Officials went to the spot, seized the trawler and destroyed the ice on board.
Golam Mostafa Chowdhury, president of the Patharghata Trawler Owners' Association, told Jagonews24 that the fisheries department had seized a trawler with ice, destroyed the ice and then handed the trawler over to the association's custody. He said the association had already warned all owners and was giving the administration its fullest cooperation in enforcing the ban.
The 22-day mother hilsa campaign
On 29 September 2025 the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock announced a 22-day nationwide campaign from 4 to 25 October, the main hilsa breeding season, during which catching, transporting, selling and storing hilsa is banned. The ministry said 620,000 fishing families in 165 upazilas of 37 districts would receive 25 kg of rice each under the VGF (Vulnerable Group Feeding) programme, and that fishing trawlers entering from beyond the maritime boundary would be strictly controlled. It said the previous year's ban had allowed 52.5 percent of mother hilsa to spawn safely.
The hilsa (Tenualosa ilisha) is the national fish of Bangladesh. It schools in coastal waters and swims up rivers to spawn. Bangladesh registered hilsa as a Geographical Indication in 2017.
Patharghata is a coastal upazila of Barguna district, with the Bishkhali River to its east and the Bay of Bengal to its south. Its economy rests largely on marine fishing and farming, and it has facilities for landing fish and wholesale fish trading.
Photo: Emdad Tahsin / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Sources: Jagonews24, Prothom Alo, Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), Wikipedia
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