Jatka, young hilsa, are being caught freely with bamboo barriers on the Padma at Sadarpur in Faridpur. Barriers built across the river at various points catch hundreds of maunds of jatka every day.

Such bamboo barriers are being used to catch jatka at at least 25 places in the area. Temporary barriers of driven bamboo stretch across wide sections of the Padma at Shaitankhali in Akoter Char union, at Sonpacha in Diara Narikelbaria and in Char Nasirpur union. Fine-mesh nets are fixed to the barriers. In some places banned current nets are used, and elsewhere seine nets catch jatka without restraint. Because the fish cannot move freely in the river, huge numbers of jatka are caught in these traps.

Several fishermen, speaking on condition of anonymity, said five or six fishermen work each barrier around the clock catching jatka. Besides being sold in local markets, the jatka are sent by river through wholesalers to various parts of the country, so large quantities reach the market easily, avoiding the administration's watch.

Residents along the Padma say that if jatka catching continues, hilsa production could fall sharply in future. Although the government runs drives every year at set times to protect jatka, there is hardly any surveillance at other times of the year. Even when drives come, they cut a few bamboos and leave without removing the barriers completely.

A local man, Nazrul Islam, said protecting jatka needs not only drives but also alternative livelihoods for fishermen; otherwise it will be hard to stop such illegal fishing. If effective steps are not taken now to protect the Padma's hilsa, future generations will pay a heavy price.

Asked about this, Sadarpur upazila fisheries officer Mehedi Hasan said regular drives are being carried out against illegal barriers and banned nets. But because the river area is so large and staff are short, it is not possible to control every place at once. Even so, they are making efforts, he said.

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