Curbs: 61-day fish ban period from today

Kolkata: A 61-day ban on catching fishes by using mechanised boats in the sea will start from Tuesday. It will continue till June 14.

The Bengal government implements a ban on marine fishing every year for two months from April 15 to control fishing in the deep sea. This will help in better management of marine and coastal ecosystems. The state Fisheries department already carried out campaigns in this regard. Fishermen have to deposit their trawler or boat license during the ban period. If any fishermen are found to be voyaging into the sea for fishing, they will be punished. One of the primary objectives of the ban is to preserve Hilsa.

According to a senior official of the state Fisheries department, Hilsa travels upstream up to Farakka to lay eggs. Fishermen catch Hilsa during that time. There is a specific law but it is hardly implemented. If people do not behave sensibly, the amount of catch will be reduced in the future, the official said.

According to experts, the application of destructive fishing gear, that too in excess of sustainable limits, is majorly contributing towards a persistent decline of marine fish catch.The Purba Medinipur Matsyajibi Forum (PMMF), a branch organisation of the Dakshinbanga Matsyajibi Forum, the largest small-scale fishworkers’ body recently wrote to the Ministry of Fisheries,

Animal Husbandry and Dairying urging for an extension in the ban period for mechanised vessels in the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).