Fishing activities will officially resume in Bhola from midnight on Wednesday, following the conclusion of the two-month government-imposed fishing ban aimed at conserving hilsa and other aquatic species during their breeding season.
The ban, which commenced on March 1, covered five major sanctuaries across 190km of critical river stretches in the southern region, including the Padma, Meghna, Tentulia, Kalabador, Betua and Ilisha rivers.
According to the Barisal Divisional Fisheries Office, more than 900 enforcement drives were carried out to implement the ban, including 138 mobile court operations.
During this period, authorities seized 1.9 tons of jatka (juvenile hilsa), 4.397 million meters of fishing nets and 10.442 million meters of current nets.
As part of the enforcement measures, 63 legal cases were filed, 23 individuals were sentenced to jail and fines totaling Tk1.4 lakh were collected, officials confirmed.
Anisuzzaman, senior assistant fisheries officer at the Barisal Divisional Office, described the drive as "highly successful" and expressed hope that fish production—particularly of hilsa—would increase significantly as a result of the intensified conservation efforts.
Fisheries officials noted that this year’s drive was more rigorous than in previous years and are optimistic about achieving a higher hilsa yield.
The department has set a production target of 1,85,000 tons of hilsa for Bhola district alone.
However, concerns have been raised by registered fishermen over the inadequacy and delay in food assistance provided during the ban period.
Many claimed they had not received their full allocations under the government's Vulnerable Group Feeding (VGF) program and had been forced to rely on loans or credit to sustain their families.
Among the approximately 3,00,000 fishermen in Bhola—considered one of the most sensitive fishing zones—1,70,243 registered individuals are now preparing to return to the rivers.
In the hours leading up to the ban’s end, fishermen across the region were seen repairing nets, boats and trawlers in anticipation of resuming operations.
Mohiuddin Majhi, a fisherman from Ilisha Union in Bhola Sadar upazila, said that the prolonged ban, combined with adverse weather conditions, had caused considerable economic strain.
“We are hopeful that a good catch will compensate for the losses,” he added.
Meanwhile, some fishermen in Bhola Sadar claimed they were still awaiting the rice allocated by the government, despite having complied with the ban.
Bhola District Fisheries Officer Biswajit Kumar Deb confirmed that only the March allocation—80kg of rice per family for 89,700 fishermen families—had been distributed so far.
He noted that the April allocation had not yet been released.
