FisheriesThe Bangladesh Navy said on 14 May 2026 that 716 drives under the Jatka Protection Programme-2026 had seized about 3.44 crore metres of illegal nets, valued by ISPR at an estimated Tk 517.44 crore, in nine coastal districts.
Drone cameras are being used for the first time in Dashmina, Patuakhali, alongside five layers of security to enforce the 22-day ban on catching mother hilsa.
Bangladesh has deployed 17 navy warships and maritime patrol aircraft to stop fishing during the hilsa breeding season.
Seventeen navy warships are patrolling nine districts and maritime patrol aircraft are watching the deep sea during the 22-day hilsa ban.
Fisheries and Livestock Adviser Farida Akhter said the air force will use drones alongside the police and navy to protect mother hilsa during this year's 22-day ban.
River police in Patharghata, Barguna, seized 40kg of deer meat in three sacks, with two heads, as it was being smuggled, but the smugglers escaped.
The Bangladesh Navy has launched a tree-planting programme under the National Tree Plantation Campaign 2025, with its chief urging wider planting in coastal areas.
The Bangladesh Navy detained 31 Indian fishermen and two Indian-flagged trawlers fishing in Bangladesh's waters during the hilsa ban.
The Bangladesh Navy has begun a month-long tree-planting programme as part of the National Tree Planting Campaign 2023.
