For some years, there has been a mismatch between Bangladesh and India in the timing of putting bans on fishing Ilish, a famous Bangali fish delicacy.
Both the countries impose periodic bans on Ilish fishing with an aim to protect the fish during its breeding season and help their young (called Jatka in Bangladesh and Khoka Ilish in India) to develop as mature Ilish.
Currently, Indian fishermen are benefiting from the ban on Ilish fishing in Bangladesh sea as India lifts the ban a month ahead of Bangladesh’s ban period thereby, allowing the fishers in West Bengal to go for early catch.
Fishermen from various parts of coastal regions of West Bengal like Diamond Harbour, Kakdwip, Namkhana, Sagar Island, Frazergung, Patharpratima, Raidighi sail away as soon as the ban period is lifted by mid-June while Ilish fishing ban remains in force for Bangladeshi fishers till third week of July.
According to West Bengal Fish Importers Association President Atul Das, some 3,000 trawlers have gone into the sea to catch Ilish in the coastal areas of West Bengal and Ilish is caught at a relatively high rate on the coast of West Bengal.
What Bangladesh is doing
Mohammad Zillur Rahman, additional director general of the Department of Fisheries, told this correspondent on Wednesday, that Bangladesh has sought India’s cooperation in harmonizing the period of the fishing ban so that Ilish catch is augmented in the territorial waters of both the countries.
However, he could not offer any timeframe when the Ilish fishers in Bangladesh can expect a synchronized ban period.
Mohammad Mamunur Rashid, a district fisheries officer, working in the Department of Fisheries’ Planning Section, said there were memorandums of understanding between the two neighboring countries on cooperation in fish sector and they hope a solution could be reached through discussions.
Bangladesh imposes fishing bans thrice a year – 22 days in October (providing the mother fish an opportunity to lay eggs), a two-month ban in March-April (to save Jatka) and a 3rd round of ban on fishing in the Bay for 65 days during end-May to 3rd week of July (for the growth of fishes). India imposes such a ban between April 15 and June 14. On June 15, fishing starts off the Indian coast.
Ban benefits not at expected level
Due to a lack of harmonization in putting an embargo on Ilish fishing between Bangladesh and India, officials say Bangladesh is not getting the fishing bans’ benefits at its expected level.
When Bangladesh’s annual Ilish catch was a little over half a million tons in 2018-19, with all the periodic bans and other protection measures full in force, the Department of Fisheries set a target of increasing the yearly production at least 16% in four years. However, it has achieved only 6.34% growth in 3 years, less than half of the target.
Fisheries officials say the roadblock to further growth is the timing mismatch in imposing fishing embargoes. Bangladesh has a ban here from May 20 to July 23 but the ban in India is from April 15 to June 14.