Chandpur: The district and upazila task forces have detained 61 fishermen for illegally catching hilsa during the ban period, in an effort to protect mother hilsa in the Padma and Meghna river sanctuary areas of Chandpur district.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, this information was released by the District Fisheries Officer’s office on Wednesday afternoon. The arrests were made during various operations conducted by the task force from October 4 to October 14. Assistant fisheries officer Farhana Akhter Ruma detailed that during this period, 32 mobile courts and 213 operations were carried out across the 70-kilometer sanctuary area. Additionally, inspections were conducted at 15 landing centers, 137 fish ghats, 732 warehouses, and 403 markets. The operations led to the seizure of 495 kg of hilsa and 2,42,000 meters of fishing nets, valued at approximately Taka 59,21,000.
A total of 42 cases were filed against the arrested fishermen, and fines amounting to Taka 34,000 were collected. Chandpur Sadar Upazila Senior Fisheries Officer Mirza Omar Faruk emphasized that the campaign to protect the national resource, Hilsa, will continue unabated.