Dhaka: Fishing in Kaptai Lake, one of the country's major inland fisheries, will resume from midnight of August 10, following the end of a three-and-a-half-month fishing ban.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, Rangamati Deputy Commissioner (DC) and Secretary of the Kaptai Lake Management Committee Najma Ashrafi announced the lifting of the ban. The decision to resume fishing was arrived at unanimously during a meeting of the lake management committee held at the conference room of the DC office. The meeting marked the conclusion of a three-month and 15-day ban, which was put in place to facilitate fish breeding.
The government imposed the fishing ban from April 25 to ensure the natural breeding, reproduction, and increased production of carp species in the lake. With the successful completion of the breeding season, the committee resolved to remove the restrictions from midnight of August 10.
Najma Ashrafi emphasized that the decision was made based on the opinions of officials from the Bangladesh Fisheries Development Corporation (BFDC), representatives of fish traders' associations, fishermen, and other stakeholders. Fish harvesting, transportation, and marketing from the lake will officially commence at 6 am on August 11.
The meeting was attended by Additional District Magistrate Nishat Sharmin, Additional Superintendent of Police Md. Iqbal Hossain, BFDC Rangamati Manager Commander Fayez Al Karim, District Fisheries Officer Md. Mizanur Rahman, Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute (BFRI) Chief Scientific Officer Haidar Hossain, fish traders Udayan Barua, Md. Mahfuz, Md. Abdul Shukkur, and other stakeholders.