31 fishermen detained, 5.5m meters net seized in Chandpur

A naval police team during an overnight drive arrested 31 fishermen along with boats, 75 kgs of mother Hilsa and 5.5 million meters current nets from the Padma and Meghna rivers for defying the government's ongoing 22-day ban on Hilsa fishing.

Superintendent of police Mohammad Kamruzzaman said eight boats, 5.5 million meters of banned current nets and 75 kgs of Hilsa were seized during the drive from yesterday night to this morning.

The seized nets were destroyed and the seized Hilsa has been distributed among the orphanages in the area, he added.

The government has imposed a 22-day ban starting from 4 October on catching, selling, storing and transporting of Hilsa, to ensure safe spawning of the Mother Hilsa, during its peak breeding period.

The executive magistrate sentenced the arrested fishermen to jail in various terms, sources said.