The New Nation - Internet Edition

Our Correspondent, Barisal

A 10-day restriction imposed by Directorate of Fishing (DF) on all sizes of hilsha fishing at four points of 7,000 square kilometers areas down the coast, the estuary and the rivers between October 15 and 24 to ensure safe spawning will be over on Saturday next.

At the same time, DF officials said that another seven months sanction on catching 'Jatka' (hilsa fry less than 9 inches or 23 centimetres in length ) would be effective from November 1. However, experts and fishermen suggested for taking lunar calendar into consideration for when the peak time of the breeding season stalks, lakhs of hulas proceed from the sea to the coast, estuary and rivers to lay eggs during the new and full moon of Aswin and Kartik months on Bangla calendar.

Reports received from Kalapara, Galachipa, Daulatkha, Borhanuddin, Tajumuddin, Charfession, Manpura, Patharghata, Mathbaria coastal areas under Barisal division and different places of Chandpur, Laxmipur, Feni and Noakhali districts revealed that fishing of mother hilsha and hilsha fries here going on indiscriminately, violating the sanction in the rivers and the branches of Meghna, Padma, Arial Kha, Kirtonkhola, Tentulia, Andharmanik, Payera, Ramnabad, Agunmukha mostly having hilsha resources. This year, more than two thousand mounds of mother hilshas had already been seized amid the underway ten-day ban on hilsa fishing in the southern region. Lakhs of hilshas could be produced from the eggs laid by each fish. So, successful enforcement of the ten-day complete ban on hilsha fishing during egg-lying period might increase hilsha resources, Bankim Chandra Biswas, Assistant Director of Fisheries, Barisal Office said.

However, fishermen said that movement of mother hilsha fish is connected with 'Tithi' (time circle of lunar calendar), not with the solar timing. This year, the period of new moon and full moon (Amabassaya and Purnima) starting from October 18 ill end on November 2. So, thousands of mother hilsha became unsafe and would be caught due to follow-up of solar calendar instead of lunar calendar for imposing ban, said Yusuf Ali, a hilsha fisherman of Barisal. As selling was not restricted, fish markets of Barisal region are now over flooded with mother hilshas and fries. Sellers claimed that those were caught before the ban started, the fishermen said.

The ban covered four points in 20 upazilas along the 7,000 square kilometres of seven coastal districts of Bhola, Patuakhali, Laxmipur, Noakhali, Feni, Borguna, Chittagong and Cox's Bazar where around 80 percent of the gravid hilsha (mother hilsha) lay spawn during this time in the river estuaries since 2003, said the fishing experts.