LivestockAhead of Eid-ul-Azha 2026, a roughly 1,006kg Sahiwal bull named Lal Mia, raised on natural feed for four years in Barishal's Babuganj, was drawing daily crowds to a small dairy farm.
The family of a young man who died of a snakebite in Babuganj, Barishal, kept his body in the yard for a daylong exorcism by snake charmers before burying him.
With little surveillance in Barishal's hilsa sanctuaries, jatka are being caught almost openly, and no fisherman has been punished a month into the two-month ban.
FisheriesHundreds of people carried off seized jatka (juvenile hilsa) while it was being handed out at the Barishal divisional fisheries office on the night of 7 November 2025. Witnesses alleged that officials had held back cartons of fish; the district fisheries officer denied it.
AgribusinessA hilsa weighing about 3 kg, caught in the Arial Khan river in Bakerganj upazila of Barishal on 7 November 2025, was sold to a local fish wholesaler for Tk 10,700, the fisherman said.
Barishal division's peak-season hilsa catch fell 23 percent from last year to 79,310 tonnes, the lowest in four years, amid overfishing and silted rivers.
Fishermen defying the hilsa ban attacked a fisheries department raid team on the Meghna in Barishal, injuring at least 15, the second attack in 24 hours.
FruitsMustard oil, vinegar, panch phoron and sugar turn a kilo of sour amra into a sweet-and-sour pickle that keeps for a long time. The ingredients, the steps and how to store it.
FisheriesA joint fisheries department and Coast Guard team enforcing the mother hilsa ban was attacked on the Meghna in Barishal's Hizla upazila on 7 October 2025, officials said. The upazila fisheries officer was among those hurt, and seven fishermen were detained.
Mobile courts jailed 57 fishermen in Barishal division in a single day for fishing during the 22-day ban to protect brood hilsa.
A boat rally on the Kirtankhola river in Barishal marked the start of the drive to protect mother hilsa during their main breeding season.
Authorities will use at least four drones to monitor 82 km of the Meghna in Barishal's Hizla and Mehendiganj upazilas during the 22-day ban on catching mother hilsa.
Betel leaf farmers in Gournadi, Barishal, say exports have almost stopped since the export price was raised to $5 a kg, leaving them without fair prices and in debt.
