Fish sanctuaries set up in B'baria

Indigenous mother fish being released in a sanctuary in a floodplain in Brahmanbaria Sadar upazila. PHOTO: STAR

None will be able to catch fish at the one-acre sanctuaries at Alykhali Beel at Nabinagar and at Kalibari, Gukarna, Shitarampur Gushaipur areas in Titas river basin.

Forty more sanctuaries will be set up in the eight upazilas of the district gradually, District Fishery Officer ASM Jahangir told this correspondent while demarcating a sanctuary in the river basin area recently. A survey has already been completed for the 40 planned sanctuaries, he said.

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The sanctuaries will be protected so that mother fishes of indigenous varieties can grow and breed fries, he said. The four sanctuaries will initially cost Tk 25,000.

Some fishermen this correspondent talked to also said they are not opposing setting up of the sanctuaries because fish resources in the riverine district have almost depleted because of indiscriminate netting.

Brahmanbaria has vast flood plains, covering about 70 area of the districts, which are suitable for natural growth of fish, Jahangir said.

According to District Fishery Office sources, 34 small rivers criss-cross the district with 110 large natural waterbodies covering 3,484 hectares of land which remain under water for over seven months in a year. Besides, there are 19215 ponds covering 4180 hectares.

To encourage natural growth of fish, Prime Minister Khaleda Zia on August 12 last year released fish fries at Dharannti Akashi Beel in Sarail upazila, marking the Fish Fortnight-2003. But that produced no result due to indiscriminate netting of fish throughout the district, Jahangir said.

He said fish production can be easily doubles from around 30800 tonnes now if all the waterbodies are brought under planned fish cultivation.

The fish sanctuaries will allow natural growth of delicious indigenous fish varieties Koy, Magur, Kalibous, Rita, Boicha, Khailsa, and Chital, which are going to be extinct.

The district, once rich in fish resources, can not even meet its own demand for 42900 tonnes now, he said.

The fishery officials said they trained 8644 youths and fishermen in scientific fish cultivation last year and gave them Tk 73,9500 loans. More 4,533 people will be trained this year.