Officials patronise plunder!

Plunder of famous Hilsha: Heaps of Jatka (Hilsha fry) at a wholesale market at Barisal. The photo was taken on Tuesday. Once in plenty, delicious and famous Hilsha is now scarce due to indiscriminate netting of Jatka. Photo: Star

On Tuesday, local journalists visited some

Hilsha wholesale market and saw huge quantities of 4"-5" inches Jatka selling at Tk 3000 per maund.

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The sale increased in the last fifteen days, traders and fishermen there said.

They alleged that a section of corrupted officials of Fishery Dircetorate are patronising Jatka sale for collecting bribe.

The officials come to the markets to "supervise" sale and fix bribes and leave after collecting bribes, they alleged.

Mantionably, the Navy conducts special drives to stop Jatka netting.

The traders and fishermen said boatloads of Jatka arrive in the wholesale markers every night.

President of Fishing Boat Owners Association Rustam Ali said a Jatka grows into a big Hilsha in only two months, when its price triples.

Yusuf Ali Sikder, president of the wholesalers association said they have nothing to do to stop this rampant destruction of fish resources because this is "patronised" by a section of officials and law enforcers.

A wholesaler said he has invested a huge amount of money in the business. He has to pay pirate gangs. "I have nothing to do if fishermen catch Jatka".

When contacted, fishery officials said Jatka netting is banned only from November to April.

There is loophole in the law as it bans Jatka netting only for six months. So they cannot go for action during the rest six months, May to October.

They said Hilsha will be scarce if catch and sale of Jatka is not stopped immediately.