A boat rally was held on the Kirtankhola River on Saturday as part of the mother Ilish conservation drive, which began at Friday midnight to protect Ilish during its peak breeding season.
Organized by the Barisal district administration and Department of Fisheries, the rally saw participation of the members of RAB, Naval Police, Coast Guard and local officials.
Barrisal Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Delwar Hossain was present on the occasion.
District Fisheries officer Ripon Kanti Ghosh said 25kg of rice would be distributed to each of the 66,524 registered fishermen under the VGF program, with a total allocation of 1,663.1 tons of rice.
He said drones and 30 executive magistrates would monitor illegal fishing.
Those who will defy the restriction will face up to two years imprisonment or to pay Tk5 lakh as fine, he added.
The 22-day fishing ban will continue until October 25.