Government bans hilsa fishing October 8-29 to protect peak breeding season. Food assistance will be provided to fishermen during the ban period.
The government has announced a 22-day ban on hilsa fishing across Bangladesh from October 8 to October 29 to protect the national fish during its peak breeding season. The decision was made at a meeting of the National Taskforce Committee on Hilsa Resource Development held at the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock on September 15.
During the ban period, all activities related to hilsa will be prohibited nationwide, including transportation, storage, marketing, buying, selling, and exchange of the fish. Fisheries and Livestock and Agriculture Minister Mohammed Aminur Rashid emphasized that there would be no compromise in protecting mother hilsa to ensure sustainable production.
The government will provide VGF food assistance to fishermen who refrain from fishing during the ban period. State Minister Sultan Salahuddin Tuku stressed the need to identify reasons behind declining hilsa production through research and called for effective measures to stop production and sale of illegal fishing nets.
Hilsa is Bangladesh's national fish and contributes approximately 9.79 percent of the country's total fish production and around 1 percent to the national GDP. About 600,000 people are directly involved in hilsa fishing, while an additional 2 to 2.5 million people depend on the hilsa industry for their livelihoods.