22-day ban on hilsa catching begins tomorrow

The government is going to impose a 22-day ban on catching, selling, hoarding and transporting of hilsa from Friday across the country to protect safe spawning of the fish during its peak breeding period.

The Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock in a notification informed the ban schedule.

The ban will remain in place till October 28.

Fisheries and Livestock Minister SM Rezaul Karim will inform in details over the restriction at a press briefing today.

According to the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, hilsa production jumped from 3 lakh tonnes in 2008-09 to 5 lakh tonnes in 2017-18 and its production touched 5.33 lakh tonnes in 2019 thanks to the government for its various steps taken to give a boost to its output.

Over 12.0 per cent fish production in Bangladesh comes from hilsa, posting the highest contribution to the country’s fish output as a single fish species.

Hilsa, the national fish of Bangladesh, is recognised as a certified patented product of Bangladesh. The marine fish flies to rivers in Bangladesh to lay eggs. The fish is very popular both in Bangladesh and West Bengal. About 75 per cent of the world’s hilsa is netted in Bangladesh.