<div style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><b>Fishermen are gearing up to resume netting, as the 22-day ban on catching, selling, transportation and hoarding of the delicious ilish ends on Friday midnight.</b></span><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">Fishermen in different districts, including Chandpur, are preparing their fishing nets and trawlers to head to the rivers after 12am.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">Like previous years, the ban was imposed on a 90-kilometre-long area from Matlab Shatnol to Haimchar in Chandpur.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The law enforcers seized huge quantities of mother ilish and fishing nets, trawlers in different parts of the country for catching ilish defying the ban.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Fisheries department, upazila and district administrations, police and Coast Guard personnel carried out regular drives to make sure that the ban was implemented strictly.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">During the ban, around 50,000 fishermen remained unemployed and were allocated 25kg of rice each, which was not enough for them, said local fishers.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Taukir Ahmed, an official from the control room of the district fisheries office, said around 212 fishermen were sent to jail during the ban period in 178 cases.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Besides, 41,855 metres of current nets were seized and destroyed, said head of Chandpur Naval Police Mohammad Kamruzzaman.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The 22-day government ban on ilish catching, selling, hoarding and transporting came into effect on October 7, with a view to boosting its production.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The ban covered hilsa sanctuaries in six districts – Barisal, Chandpur, Laxmipur, Bhola, Shariatpur and Patuakhali.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ilish, the national fish of Bangladesh, is recognised as a certified patented product of Bangladesh. The marine fish goes to rivers in Bangladesh to lay eggs.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The fish is very popular both in Bangladesh and West Bengal. About 75% of the world's ilish is netted in Bangladesh.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Chandpur is considered one of the largest trading hubs of ilish in Bangladesh as the fish from the Padma river is much more popular than the ones that come from other rivers. UNB</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>