Fishermen of Tanguar haor in Sunamganj are facing hurdles to earn their livelihoods as the authorities concerned has put a limit to fishing in the haor’s core zones this year.
Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, many fisher men said illegal fishing in the haor will be increased due to the restriction.
Moreover, it will increase the rate employment among the people who are dependent on the haor.
“We have fallen in a helpless situation and are facing difficulties to maintain our families,” said Ratikanta Barman, a fisherman at Indrapur village under Shreepur union.
Located in the foothills of Meghalaya, the Tanguar haor covers about 10,000 hectares of water bodies in Sunamganj and parts of Habiganj, Netrokona and Kishoreganj districts and provides for livelihood of over 64,000 people in 85 villages around it.
Tanguar Haor, home to about 140 species of sweet water fishes, was declared an Ecologically Critical Area (ECA) in 1999. Considering its potential and international importance, the haor was declared a Ramsar site in 2000.
Due to its status as an ECA and Ramsar site, the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) with technical assistance from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) initiated a project titled ‘Community Based Sustainable Management of Tanguar Haor’ in 2006.
The project is being implemented in Tahirpur and Dharmapasha upazilas of Sunamganj district.
As a part of the management system, the fishermen catch fishes at hatirgata, Mahishergata, Baluar Doba, Roua, Rupabhui, Lechuamara, Berberia, and Tekuinna beels by using various types of net from mid-January to mid-April under the supervision of the authorities concerned. The authorities select buyers of the fishes through an open bidding system to ensure fair prices.
Of total amount of money earned from selling the fishes, 40 per cent goes to the fishermen, 24 per cent to government exchequer, and 36 percent to communities in the area.
“Althugh the government has put a restriction to catch fishes in the core zones, fishing in buffer zones are rampant,” said Abu Hanif, a fisherman of Lamagaon.
Poor fishermen have mainly been affected by the restriction as they can not catch fishes even in the buffer zones, he said.
Joycharan Barman, a fisherman of Sanua village, said some 120 families of poor fishermen community in Sanua, Hatpaton and Batta are passing their days in hardship.
Mohammad Iqbal Hossain, upazila nirbahi officer of Tahirpur, said they kept stopped fishing in core zones due to some problems in maintenance of the haor.
Moreover fair prices of the fishes could not be ensured for lack of transports due to recent hartals and blockade, he said.
Engineer Moazzem Hossain, a law maker of Sunamganj-1 constituency, said he was not aware of the decision of keeping shut fishing in haor.
“I will look into the matter,” he said.