Staff correspondent :

Fisheries and Livestock Minister Sh M Rezaul Karim said that if the extraction of mother hilsa is stopped during the main breeding season, the production of hilsa in the country will increase further.
The minister said these things at the exchange meeting organized on the occasion of mother hilsa conservation campaign 2023 at Shaheed Omar Farooq Auditorium of Pirojpur Sadar Upazila Parishad on Thursday.
At that time, the minister said, with the help of fishermen, the government has taken measures to protect the habitat of hilsa, including stopping the extraction of hilsa and stopping the killing of jatka, so the production of hilsa has increased. The size of hilsa has also increased compared to the past. A mother hilsa lays 6 to 7 lakh eggs. Extracting one mother hilsa means destroying millions of hilsa. Therefore, if mother hilsa is preserved, the production of hilsa will increase further. For this reason, it is in the interests of the fishermen to stop the killing of mother hilsa.
He also said that the government is providing VGF support to fishermen during the ban on hilsa extraction, providing alternative employment opportunities. Already this support has reached 155 upazilas of 37 districts rich in hilsa in the country. Under this, a total of 13 thousand 872.18 metric tons of food assistance is being provided to 5 lakh 54 thousand 887 fishermen families at the rate of 25 kg.
Addressing the fishermen at this time, the minister also said that during the ban, one cannot go down to the river or the sea to catch fish due to someone’s bad advice or wrong incitement. If hilsa is extracted during the ban period, it will be subject to jail and fine.
Director General of Fisheries Department b. Mahbubul Haque presided over the exchange meeting as a special guest – Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock Md. Abdul Qayyum, Deputy Commissioner of Pirojpur. Zahedur Rahman and Superintendent of Police Mohammad Shafiur Rahman.