Photo: BSS

 BHOLA, June 12, 2025 (BSS) – Fishermen overnight returned to the sea as a nearly two-month long routine ban on fishing in Bay of Bengal to allow marine fishes proper breeding was exhausted at midnight yesterday, officials and people concerned said.

   They said the fishermen in Bhola and other coastline districts left their home and sailed in the sea with their fishing gears including nets as the temporary prohibition period was ended. 

   Bhola’s district fisheries officer Biswajit Kumar Deb told BSS the government imposed a 58-day fishing ban in the Bay of Bengal on April 15 for proper breeding, production, preservation and collection of marine fisheries.
    “The government provided 78-kg rice to each fisherman under the Vulnerable Group Feeding (VGF) programme during prohibition period,” Dev said.

   He said the number of sea-bound fishermen alone in Bhola is around 65,000 but different associations representing the fishermen that at least one lakh people in the district fish in the sea as means of their livelihood and all of them deserved the assistance. 

   The official said the ban was enforced under section-3 of the ‘Sea Fish Rules-2023 for proper breeding, production, preservation and collection of marine fisheries.

   Bangladesh Navy and Bangladesh Coast Guard extended their hands to the Department of Fisheries to enforce the ban and conduct joint drives against the fishing of all sorts of fishes in the sea.