Indiscriminate netting of juvenile fish in Chandpur stir shortage fears

Indiscriminate netting of juvenile fishes in the Meghna River in Chandpur stirred fear among some veteran fishermen and merchants that serious fish crisis may occur in the next few years in the district.

Sources at the District Fisheries Office in Chandpur said many among the 46,000 registered fishermen in the district are engaged in netting juvenile fish flouting govt. ban. Netting of juvenile fishes continued at the banks of the river since the start of winter during midnights, locals told this correspondent. The juvenile fishes which are being netted includes bailiar gura, sagor pona, juvenile hilsha, shrimp, poa, koi, shing, magur, pangas, veda, aair, tangra, puti, rita, pabda, chewwa, taaki, etc. Managers and owners of the fisheries in Chandpur alleged that officials at the District Fisheries Office in Chandpur and river police have secret agreement with the fishermen and facilitating illegal fishing.

Locals in Chandpur, including the residents in the Meghna River bank at Puranbazar, Horishabha, Sreeramdi, Ronagowal, said that many fishermen start netting fish fries from midnight, which continues till dawn.

They sell 30 to 40 maunds of juvenile fish to 40 to 50 fish vendors at Sreeramdi's Ronagowal in Chandpur's Puranbazar, locals also said.

The fish vendors then sell the fish fries to low income people at Tk 200 or Tk 250 per kg at different places in Chandpur. The unscrupulous fishermen have also been fishing using different types of banned nets in the Dakatia River in Chandpur Sadar, Hajiganj, Faridgonj and Shahrasti upazilas.

Some veteran fishermen said, "A good number of fish lay eggs in the river. When the winter sets in, the newborn fries move freely in the rivers in the high tide and low tide. Then the dishonest fishermen trap these fries at night." Mirza Omar Faruk, senior upazila fisheries officer, Chandpur Sadar, said as per govt. order they have been launching regular drives against netting of juvenile fishes in the Meghna River under Sadar and Haimchar. He added that huge amount of nets were seized and burnt and people are being encouraged against catching and consuming juvenile fish.

"Most fishermen allegedly flout govt. rule," he also said.

Bijoy Das, senior fisheries officer of Matlab Uttar, said they have launched many drives to stop illegally netting fries in the Meghna River in January and seized a huge amount of banned nets.

He added that the drives will be continued in February as well to protect juvenile fishes from being caught prematurely.

If juvenile fish are netted at random in the rivers, serious fish crisis will occur within the next few years, said Alhaj Shabe Barat, president of Fish Merchant Samity. "Stern action and mobile courts are ugently needed to stop it," he added. Veteran fish vendors in the Biponibgh Bazar, Pal Bazar, Wireless Bazar in Chandpur town echoed the same sentiment.

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