The government has banned fishing in the Bay of Bengal for a total of 65 days, from tomorrow until July 23, to conserve marine fish and ensure their safe spawning.
The Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock issued a notification on Sunday (19 May), prohibiting the fishing of any species using fishing boats in marine waters.
The notification said that during this period, monitoring at navigation entrances will be intensified, and fishing boats will be completely prohibited from operating. To prevent the transport of marine fish, seashore ice mills will operate at a limited capacity, and fishing vessels at sea will remain anchored.
The ministry has sought cooperation from law enforcement agencies to stop illegal fishing in the sea.
The ministry also sent a letter to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, requesting measures to broadcast special awareness programs on television and radio.
Under the direction of the Ministry, the Department of Fisheries has launched a control room and formed three divisional monitoring teams in the Barisal, Chattogram, and Khulna divisions.
The ministry announced that, as an emergency alternative source of income, a total of 311,062 families dependent on fishing for their livelihood will be provided with food aid. Each family will receive 86 kilograms of rice, distributed in two installments over 65 days, through the Vulnerable Group Feeding (VGF) programme.
