22-day ban on hilsha fishing starts October 4

The government has imposed a 22-day ban on hilsha catching starting October 4 to boost the production by ensure safe spawning of the fish, during its peak breeding period.

Ministry of livestock and fisheries said this in a press release on September 22.

During this time hilsha catching, marketing, selling, transportation, storage, exchange and all activities relation to catching his fish will remain closed.

In order to ensure the safe reproduction of ilis, Government has been imposing bans, since 2003, on catching ilish during spawning period to boost production. The ban is imposed under the Protection and Conservation of Fish Act 1950. Violation of this impose may result in one to two years of imprisonment and a maximum fine of Tk5,000 or both.

Normally for these break each family involved with hilasha catching gets government assistance.

A large-sized female may produce up to 2 million eggs. Hilsas have a major spawning season during September-October.

According to The Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute (BFRI), in 2020-2021 Fiscal Year hilsa production stood at 5.5 lakh tonnes.