Three Fishermen Jailed in Dashmina for Catching Mother Hilsa, 150,000 Metres of Net Burned
A mobile court in Dashmina, Patuakhali, has sentenced three fishermen to one month in jail each for catching mother hilsa in the Tentulia River in defiance of the fishing ban. They were detained in a joint drive by the upazila administration, river police and the fisheries department before being sentenced.
The three fishermen were caught during the joint drive that ran from Sunday morning to evening. Three engine-driven trawlers and 150,000 metres of banned current net were seized in the operation.
The convicted fishermen are Ayub Jomaddar and Md Rahman Jomaddar, sons of the late Razzak Jomaddar of Dakshin Charghurni village in Rongopaldi union, and Md Faruk Mridha, son of Lalu Mridha of Syed Jafar village in Dashmina union.
According to the upazila administration and fisheries office, the three were arrested while fishing in the Tentulia River during the ban period. Produced before the court of the upazila nirbahi officer, the mobile court sentenced each of them to one month in jail.
The seized 150,000 metres of current net was burned and destroyed in the Hazir Hat area. The three trawlers were placed in the custody of the chairman of the relevant union parishad.
Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) and Executive Magistrate Mahmud Hasan Mridha said the three fishermen were arrested in a joint drive by the upazila administration, river police, fisheries department and thana police that ran from Sunday morning to evening, and that each was jailed for one month through the mobile court.
He added that the seized nets had been burned and destroyed and the trawlers handed into the union parishad chairman’s custody. The drive to protect mother hilsa will continue, he said.
The drive was led by Upazila Assistant Fisheries Officer Aminul Islam. Sub-Inspector (SI) Mahmud of the thana and members of the river police were present at the time.
During the breeding season, fishing in rivers is banned for a government-set period to protect mother hilsa. If egg-bearing mother fish are caught at this time, hilsa production is severely disrupted, which is why drives and mobile courts are operating across the country against ban violators.
The Dashmina drive is part of that continuing effort. Some fishermen around the Tentulia River are alleged to be ignoring the ban and fishing with current nets at night, and the administration says surveillance will be increased further.
Fisheries officials say that if mother hilsa conservation succeeds, the hilsa catch rises in the following season, and it is the fishermen themselves who benefit. Observing the short ban period is therefore in the fishing community’s own long-term interest.
The administration said awareness activities will run alongside the punishments and net destruction, so that nobody goes out on the river during the ban. The UNO’s statement made clear that the drives will continue.
