Three jailed at Dashmina on the first night of hilsa fishing ban 

DASHMINA, PATUAKHALI, Oct 9: Three fishermen were sentenced to one month in jail by a mobile court in Dashmina Upazila of Patuakhali on the first night of the government’s ban on fishing during the hilsa breeding season.

The court also fined each of them Tk 50.

However, the three were reportedly not going to catch hilsa. They were travelling by trawler across the Tentulia River to Char Hadi carrying three hand-pulled “moiya” nets to catch shrimp along the riverbank.

They were detained during a drive in the Char Hadi area around 2am on Thursday. A mobile court of the upazila administration later sentenced them.

The authorities also seized three “moiya” nets from them and destroyed the nets by burning them.

The convicts are Habib Hawlader, 55, son of deceased Ab Rahim Hawlader; Mahabub, 52, son of deceased Kanchan Ali; and Khokon Hawlader, 45, son of deceased Ahammad Hawlader. All three are residents of Bashbaria village under Ward 8 of Bashbaria Union.

Executive Magistrate and Dashmina Upazila Nirbahi Officer Mahmud Hasan Mridha, who conducted the mobile court, told The Daily Observer that fishing, carrying, transporting, buying, selling and storing fish of any kind are completely prohibited during the government-declared ban.

“As they were found in the river with fishing equipment, legal action was taken against them,” he said.

He added that regular drives would be conducted on the rivers and waterways of Dashmina to enforce the ban and protect mother hilsa.
“Anyone who tries to catch fish in the rivers by violating the ban will face legal action,” he said.

According to the upazila fisheries office, fishing of all kinds, including hilsa, will remain prohibited in the rivers and waterways from October 8 to October 29 to protect mother hilsa during the breeding season.