Fishing to resume in Kaptai Lake after 108-day ban

Fishing in Rangamati's Kaptai Lake will resume Wednesday after a ban of three and a half months, imposed by the local administration to boost fish production.

The decision to end the ban after 108 days was taken at a meeting presided over by Deputy Commissioner (DC) Mohammad Mizanur Rahman.

Manager of Bangladesh Fisheries Development Corporation (BFDC) Lieutenant Commander M Touhidul Islam said, "We usually impose a three-month ban on fishing in Kaptai Lake from May 1 to July 31.”

All kinds of netting, marketing, preserving, drying and transporting of fish from the lake are banned during the period to allow the fish population to thrive.

This year's three-month ban on netting, marketing and transportation of fish from Kaptai Lake had to be extended till August 16 to help breed and rejuvenate fish stocks as the water level in the freshwater lake did not rise enough.

However, the water in the lake is now slowly rising, Touhidul said.

After lifting the ban on fishing and transporting fish in Kaptai Lake, fishermen will be able to fish in the lake again from Wednesday, August 17, he said.

According to BFDC around 7,672 tonnes of fish were caught in the fiscal year (FY) 2015-16, 7,981 tonnes in FY17, 8,123 tonnes in FY18, 8,423 tonnes in FY19 and 8,549 tonnes in FY20, and 8,000 tonnes in FY21 from Kaptai Lake. Around 22,000 fishermen are dependent on the lake.