59 fishermen held in Shariatpur

Mobile court in separate drives arrested 59 fishermen along with Current Jal and hilsa on Monday from the Padma and Meghna in Shariatpur district.

Later, the mobile court sentenced them to different terms of imprisonment for defying the government’s ongoing 22-day ban on hilsa fishing.

A total of 59 fishermen were arrested with 65 kgs of mother hilsa and 2.882 lakh metres of banned Current Jal during the drives, said District Fisheries Officer Pranab Kumar Karmakar.

The mobile court sentenced 53 fishermen to different terms of jail and fined six fishermen Tk 5,000 each, he said.

The seized nets were destroyed and the seized hilsa has been distributed to the orphanages, madrasas and poor people in the area.

The government has imposed a 22-day ban starting from October 4 on catching, selling, storing and transporting hilsa, to ensure safe spawning of the Mother hilsa, during its peak breeding period.

A joint team of mobile court in separate drives arrested 12 fishermen along with Current Jal and hilsa  from Padma and Meghna in the district on 23 October.