BANGLADESH has deployed warships and patrol aircraft as part of a surveillance operation to protect hilsa fish from illegal fishing during the spawning season, the country’s defence force said.
The herring-like hilsa, Bangladesh’s national fish and a popular delicacy in West Bengal in India, return from the Bay of Bengal to rivers each year to lay eggs.
Authorities said on Saturday they had imposed a three-week ban on fishing from October 4 to 25 to protect spawning areas.
The defence force’s Inter-Service Public Relations said in a statement that 17 navy warships and patrol helicopters had been deployed to enforce the ban and protect the fish.
“The warships and state-of-the-art maritime patrol aircraft have been conducting round-the-clock surveillance to prevent the intrusion of domestic and foreign fishermen into the deep sea,” the statement said.
Millions of people in Bangladesh depend on the fish, which can cost up to 2,200 taka ($18.40) a kilogram in Dhaka.
Indian fishing fleets trawl the waters of the River Ganges and its delta to meet demand in Kolkata and across West Bengal, which has a population of more than 100 million.
Overfishing to meet such demand can reduce stocks as hilsa return to spawn.
Environmental experts say fish stocks have also been affected by changes in the delta regions, which are threatened by rising sea levels linked to climate change.
Some experts also expressed concern that the deployment of ships could disturb the spawning fish.
Md Abdul Wahab, former head of the Eco Fish project at WorldFish, told AFP the hilsa needed “calm and undisturbed waters for spawning” and suggested the use of drones instead.
The Bangladesh government has allocated 25 kilograms of rice per fishing family as compensation during the ban period.
“These three weeks are very difficult for fishermen, as we have no other means of survival,” said Sattar Majhi, a 60-year-old fisherman.
(With inputs from agencies)
