25 fishermen detained on the Meghna in Chandpur for defying the hilsa ban; 80kg of seized fish sent to orphanages

Naval police in Chandpur have detained 25 fishermen accused of fishing in the Meghna River in defiance of a government ban imposed to protect mother hilsa. They were detained during raids at different points of the Meghna from Saturday midnight to Sunday morning (25 October).

Five fishing boats, 15,000 metres of net and 80 kilograms of hilsa were seized during the operation.

Md Azamgir Hossain, officer-in-charge (OC) of Chandpur Naval Police Station, said 25 fishermen were detained over the past 24 hours for fishing in the Meghna in violation of the ban.

Eleven of those detained are minors. The OC said they were released into the custody of their families, while regular cases were filed by the naval police against the remaining 14.

The seized 80 kilograms of hilsa were later distributed to several local orphanages, OC Azamgir Hossain said.

According to the district fisheries department, a ban on catching hilsa in rivers is imposed at a set time every year to protect mother hilsa breeding and increase production. The administration and law-enforcement agencies run surveillance and raids on the rivers to enforce the ban.

Azamgir Hossain added that such operations would continue to make the mother hilsa conservation programme a success.