Fisheries and Livestock Adviser Farida Akhter declared that from now onwards, Bhola, not Chandpur, will be known as the home of ilish.
She has called for everyone to work together to protect the ilish fish resources.
She made this statement as the chief guest during a fishermen’s awareness meeting, organized by the district administration and the fisheries department on Tuesday afternoon at a sand field near the Bhola Canal, along the Meghna River in Bhola.
The awareness meeting, held as part of the campaign to protect the mother ilish during the main breeding season, brought together fishermen and various stakeholders from different sectors.
Farida Akhter stated that ilish’s home is no longer Chandpur; from now on, Bhola will be recognized as its new home.
She also emphasized that foreign fishermen have no right to fish in Bangladesh’s waters and instructed law enforcement agencies to expel them.
Additionally, she announced that to protect fishermen, the exploitative loan system would be abolished and replaced with low-interest loans.
The adviser also warned that violators of laws protecting mother ilish would be brought to justice.
Highlighting ilish as an international resource, Farida Akhter stated that no district that produces ilish should have impoverished people.
The meeting, chaired by Bhola’s Deputy Commissioner Azad Jahan, also featured speeches from special guests including the Secretary of the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock Sayeed Mahmood Belal Haider; Director General Md Zillur Rahman; Coast Guard Commander of the Southern Zone of Bhola Mohammad Shahin Majid; Naval Commander of Bhola Contingent Abu Bakr Siddique; and Superintendent of Naval Police Nazmul Hasan.
Approximately 500 fishermen who fish in the Meghna and Tentulia rivers in Bhola district participated in the event.
