(BSS) – Fisheries and Livestock Adviser Miss Farida Akhter today urged all concerned to work together for protecting the hilsa, a national resource of the country.

“All the stakeholders, including the fishermen should come forward for protecting the mother hilsa during the main breeding season”, she said while addressing a fishermen awareness programme on the occasion of "Mother Hilsa Conservation Campaign at Bholarkhal on the bank of river Meghna in Sadar upazila here this noon.

The district administration of Bhola and the Department of Fisheries (DoF) jointly organized the function.

The adviser gave directives to the law enforcement agencies to drive away the fishermen, who usually comes from outside for fishing as the outside fishermen have no right to catch fishes inside the water bodies of Bangladesh.

At the same time, the fisheries adviser said the government will introduce low interest credit for the fishermen instead of providing advance money as loan called ‘dadon’ for the safety of the fishermen.

Stern action will be taken against those, who violate the hilsa protection law, the adviser added.

Mentioning hilsa as an asset of international standard, Farida Akhter said people of those districts, where hilsas are available, cannot remain in poverty.

With Deputy Commissioner of Bhola Azad Jahan in the chair, the meeting was also attended, among others, by Fisheries and Livestock Secretary Sayeed Mahmud Belal, Director General (DG) of the Department of Fisheries (DoF) M Zillur Rahman, Coast Guard South Zone Commander Mohammad Shahin Mazid, Commander of Bhola Navy Contingent Abu Bakar Siddique, River Police SP Nazmul Hasan and local fishermen community leaders.