A total of 29 fishermen were arrested in separate drives from different points of Meghna and Tentulia rivers in the last 24 hours in the district for defying the government's ongoing ban on Hilsha fishing.

Sadar Upazila Fisheries Office and Naval Police conducted the separate drives in the district.
 
Sadar Upazila Fisheries Officer Md. Jamal Hossain said, a total of 11 fishermen were arrested in various areas of Tentulia River with 15 kgs of mother Hilsha, four trawlers and seven thousand meters of banned current nets during the drive. Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Md. Tauhidul Islam led the drive.

The mobile court sentenced seven fishermen to fifteen days imprisonment each and fined one fisherman Taka five thousand.

Among them, three juvenile were released as they were minor and rests of the fisherman were sent to jail with a case, he said.

Meanwhile, Naval police in a drive arrested 18 fishermen along with 10,000 meters of current net, 20 kgs of hilsa and a trawler from Bholar Char area of the Meghna river in Sadar upazila of the district this morning. They were sent to jail with a case.

The seized nets were destroyed and the Hilsha has been distributed to the orphanages and poor people in the area.

The government has imposed a 22-day ban starting from October 7 on catching, selling, storing and transporting Hilsha, to ensure safe spawning of the Mother Hilsha, during its peak breeding period.