Members of Bashundhara Shuvosangho held an awareness meeting to stop catching jatka (juvenile hilsa) and mother hilsa in Galachipa upazila of Patuakhali on Saturday.
The programme was organised at Trawlerghat in the Panpatti launch terminal area of the upazila. Local fishermen, traders, and residents took part in the event.
Speakers at the meeting stressed the need for strict measures to stop jatka fishing.
As the chief guest, Galachipa Upazila Senior Fisheries Officer Md Zahirunnabi said, “If the harvesting of jatka and mother hilsa is not stopped, hilsa production will decline.
“At one point, hilsa production in the country dropped from nearly 20 lakh tonnes to 2 lakh tonnes. Due to various conservation efforts, production has increased somewhat, but as jatka harvesting has not been completely stopped, this national resource still remains at risk,” he added.
Speakers also noted that indiscriminate harvesting of jatka and mother hilsa by unscrupulous fishermen would severely disrupt hilsa breeding and production. This would affect thousands of people dependent on the sector.
They called for collective efforts to protect hilsa resources.
The event was chaired by Md Mizanur Rahman, convener of Galachipa upazila unit Shuvosangho, and moderated by Member Secretary Md Tarikul Islam Munna.
Special guests included the district coordinator of Shuvosangho and Galachipa correspondent of Kaler Kantho Saimun Rahman Elite, and Galachipa correspondent of Nagorik TV Md Hujjatul Islam.
Shuvosangho members Md Hemayet Hossain Master and Md Anwar Hossain, lab assistant of the upazila secondary education office Md Sajmul Islam, local fish traders Md Ohidul Islam and Md Dulal were present, among others.
Bd-Pratidin English/ AM
