Fisheries and Livestock Adviser Farida Akhter today emphasised ensuring safe breeding of hilsa fish for increasing their production.
“Make sure of the safe breeding of hilsa. It would be possible to do so through a massive awareness campaign to restrain fishermen from catching the fish during their breeding season,” she said while addressing an awareness campaign programme to save mother hilsa during the breeding season at Sureshwar Launch Ghat in Shariatpur district, said a press release.
The adviser said the awareness campaign would bring better results rather than arresting fishermen to prevent them from fishing hilsa during the peak breeding season.
She earlier announced a ban on fishing hilsa during their breeding season for 22 days from 13 October to 3 November . During this period, the transport, purchase, sale, storage and exchange of hilsa will be prohibited.
“If the hilsa fishing would have stopped during the breeding season, the production of the country’s national fish would have increased,” she said.
Responding to a query, Farida said a gang of unscrupulous traders want to make a quick buck through fishing hilsa during the breeding season.
Tougher legal action would be taken against the clique, consulting with law enforcement agencies,” she said.
The adviser earlier visited a 20 kilometre long hilsa fish sanctuary on the River Padma under Shariatpur district.
