The river Halda is the biggest natural fish breeding ground in South Asia. On the occasion of Mujib Barsha, the Halda River had already been approved as Bangabandhu Fish Heritage by the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock. The citizen groups demanded to declare Halda as the national river.
Every day, hundreds of tourists come to Halda River to enjoy the natural beauty. Government and private initiatives continue various activities to protect the mother fish and biodiversity of Halda River.
Under these circumstances, the LGSP-3 project has implemented the scheme to make people aware of the bank of Halda River, to protect fish, dolphins, and other biodiversity.
April-June is the breeding period of fish in the Halda River. A festive mood prevails among hundreds of families engaged in collecting eggs during this period.
This river with a variety of species of native fish including rui, catla, carp, mrigel, among others contributes Tk800 crore to the national production annually.
At present, despite government restrictions on Halda River, which has become a national resource, some self-interested and nefarious individuals try to catch the mother fish and cause pollution by setting floating fishing gears in the dark of night.
The upazila administration conducts anti-fishing drives frequently. To supplement the surveillance initiative of local administration, the Guman Mardan union parishad initiated the use of surveillance fishing boats during the financial year 2019-2020 to protect the biodiversity of Halda River.
This is an innovative scheme. The total cost of the scheme is Tk40,000. The number of beneficiaries is about 6,000 people.
A 3-member team is formed to conduct the surveillance activities. This type of community-based surveillance activities is very effective as they are aware of the illegal fishing.
One of the members of the surveillance team Badal Dash said that the surveillance would help reduce illegal fishing significantly and yield a positive result by increasing production of fish eggs.
Local union parishad and the elected public representatives have also become partners of the national revenue contribution through the protection of the Halda River following the implementation of this scheme.
Mohammad Nezam Uddin, the beneficiary of the patrol boat said: “Every year, we collect fish eggs from Halda and earn our livelihood by selling fish fry. If the mother fish are protected, the fish will lay eggs every year. Surveillance by union parishad's patrol boats stop individuals setting nets illegally and the mother fish and other aquatic animals will be able to move freely and safely. Its proper use will play an effective role in protecting natural resources.
MR Ali is a freelance contributor.
