A task force has detained 150 fishermen along with 35 trawlers in a drive in Taltali, Barguna, on charges of fishing on the Payra river in defiance of the ban.

The drive, which ran until dawn on Friday (October 24), was conducted by a joint team of the upazila administration, the fisheries department, the Coast Guard and the river police.

The fisheries department said that as the end of the ban approached, many fishermen prepared to go out on the river early. Acting on a tip-off, a joint team of various administration agencies ran a continuous drive at different points on the Payra river on Thursday night. During the drive, 150 fishermen were detained with 35 trawlers. They and their trawlers were then brought to the Joyalbhanga area of Taltali upazila. Each trawler owner was fined Tk 1,000. All the seized trawlers were ordered to be held in the custody of local union parishad members until 12 midnight on Friday.

Taltali Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Sebak Datta said: "These fishermen were caught red-handed fishing during an all-night drive on the Payra river. Legal action against them is under way for breaking the ban to protect mother hilsa."

Barguna District Fisheries Officer Md Mohsin told Jago News: "The district administration, upazila administration, fisheries department, river police and Coast Guard have been active from the start to ensure the ban is properly enforced. Our operations will continue until the ban ends."

The report states that the government imposed a 22-day fishing ban in all rivers and coastal waters of the country from October 12 to November 2 this month to protect mother hilsa.

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