22 Fishermen Jailed for Catching Mother Hilsa in the Meghna Defying the Ban, Nets Burned

A mobile court has sentenced 22 fishermen to 12 days in jail each for catching mother hilsa in the Padma-Meghna river in Chandpur in defiance of a ban. In the same drive, 25,000 metres of banned current nets, six fishing boats and five kilograms of hilsa were seized.

The information was released on Monday morning from the office of the Chandpur Sadar Upazila Senior Fisheries Officer. Two underage fishermen among those detained were released after giving undertakings.

The jailed fishermen are Rifat (25), Russell Khan (26), Delwar Hossain (60), Sujan Gazi (30), Idris Ali (35), Nazrul Bepari (28), Monir Mizi (28), Shahid Gazi (29), Delwar Hossain Molla (60), Jahangir Bepari (35), Selim Fakir (30), Md Nazrul (30), Kamal Bepari (34), Liton Beg (45), Mainuddin (47), Nayan Sharif (18), Nizam Pradhania (36), Md Russell (30), Monir Bepari (28), Mohammad Hossain (19), Russell Gazi (25) and Md Iqbal (22). Their homes are in Chandpur and neighbouring Shariatpur district.

Md Mizanur Rahman, assistant fisheries officer of Sadar Upazila who took part in the drive, said the operation was carried out at various points of the Meghna river from 4 pm to 10 pm on Sunday to protect mother hilsa during breeding. The drive was conducted under the supervision of senior fisheries officers at district and upazila level.

The operation covered the Anandabazar, Lalpur, Kachikata, Chirachar, Harisabha, Ranagoal, Dokanghar and Baharia areas of Sadar Upazila. Of those detained, 18 were caught in the Chirachar area and six in the Dokanghar area.

Later, at midnight, a mobile court sat at the Coast Guard's Chandpur station. Assistant commissioners and executive magistrates of the district administration Nahid Iqbal, Md Rahmat Ullah and Tanvir Rabbi conducted the court.

The court sentenced the 22 detained fishermen to 12 days in jail each and fined each of them Tk 200. The other two fishermen were released on undertakings because they were minors.

Assistant fisheries officer Mizanur Rahman added that the seized current nets were burned and destroyed in the presence of the executive magistrates. The seized hilsa was distributed to an orphanage.

The six seized fishing boats remain in the custody of the Coast Guard. The drive to protect mother hilsa during the breeding season is expected to continue throughout the ban period.

A ban on fishing in the rivers is imposed for a specific period every year to stop the catching of mother hilsa. The drive found that these fishermen had gone out on the river in defiance of that ban, and as a result they faced imprisonment and fines.