22-day hilsa fishing ban to begin Friday midnight

A 22-day ban on hilsa fishing comes into effect across the country’s rivers and marine waters from Friday midnight, with a view to protecting the species during its peak breeding season.

Fisheries and Livestock Adviser Farida Akhter outlined the ban at a press conference at the ministry on Monday, September 29, while unveiling the ‘Mother Hilsa Conservation Campaign 2025’ and discussing the availability, harvest, prices and export situation of hilsa.

The ban covers catching, transporting, storing, marketing, buying, selling, or exchanging hilsa and other fish species in Bangladesh’s marine fishing zones from October 4 to October 25.

To enforce the ban, the Department of Fisheries has set up monitoring teams at divisional and upazila levels, which will conduct field operations and mobile court actions. Daily reports will be submitted to a central control room.

Along with vigilance by the law enforcing agencies and other authorities, awareness campaigns are also stressed.

Source: UNB