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Current nets ’stay legal’

Banned since 2002 but exists to date as 49 lawsuits await verdict

Inam Ahmed and Sohel Parvez
Despite a ban for almost a decade, the use of current nets in open water bodies continues unabated, destroying the juvenile fish and depleting the overall fish stocks.
Yet, the government can do little, as its restrictions on the production, trade and use of such fishnets remain stayed by the High Court.
The HC issued several stay orders in response to 56 petitions filed by the producers and traders of current nets after the government placed the curbs back in 2002.
Of the petitions, 49 are still awaiting verdict.
Fisheries experts want quick disposal of the petitions. They suggest that the higher court ask independent analysts for sharing knowledge on the impact of the use of current nets, which are made of monofilament synthetic nylon fibre of different mesh sizes.
The Protection and Conservation of Fish Act, 1950, which was amended in September 2002, says: "No person shall manufacture, fabricate, import, market, store,
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carry, transport, own, possess or use current jal [net]."
A recent document of the fisheries and livestock ministry read, "The law to stop production and use of current nets cannot be implemented because of petitions pending with the court."
Despite repeated efforts, The Daily Star could not reach any of the petitioners.
Some 1.56 crore people are involved in the fishing sector, which accounts for 2.73 percent of the country's annual export earnings.
Experts are concerned over the continuing production and use of the current nets, which are used to catch adolescent fish including jatka (hilsa fry) in rivers and the sea.
Such practice prevents the juvenile fish maturing for spawning. It also affects biodiversity.
"Fish cannot escape the current nets because these remain non-visible to fish under the water. Other types of nets stay much more visible and thus create scope for fish to escape," said Prof Dewan Ali Ahsan, chairman of fisheries department at Dhaka University.
"If fishing by these nets continues, there will be no fish in open water bodies in the days ahead,” warned Dewan. "Not only fish, biodiversity will also be affected as many species in water depend on fish."
In the five years until 2010-11, fish production rose by 31 percent to 30.62 lakh tonnes, buoyed by the expansion of fish cultures, according to Bangladesh Economic Review2012.
However, sluggish growth in fish captured from open water sources has led to a fall in its contribution to annual output of fish, a major source of protein for the people.
One of the reasons behind this sluggish growth is reckless fishing using current and mosquito nets, fisheries experts say.
Some 20 species of indig-
enous fish have faced extinction over the last 10 years, said Prof Mostafa Ali Reza Hossain of fisheries biology and genetics at Bangladesh Agricultural University, citing one of his studies.
The use of current nets is a major factor behind their going extinct along with the increased use of insecticides and chemical fertilisers, and depletion of fish habitats, he said.
Hilsa depletes in rivers like various other fish including ruhi and katla, said Prof Dewan. "Fishing with the current nets and also with those with almost zero-mesh sizes should be banned to protect the fish stocks from falling down," he said.
Prof Mahmud Hasan of the fisheries department at DU says all sorts of fish, of similar size and age, get caught in the current nets. "So, the number of matured fish for spawning falls and affects fish production."
It means that the next generation of fish population would decline, he observed, suggesting tough restrictions on the use of current nets.
"If the court wants, it can hear from independent experts on the impact of the use of current nets for taking decisions quickly," said Prof Mahmud.
His colleague Prof Dewan echoes the idea.
Asked, Ujjwal Bikash Dutta, secretary of the fisheries and livestock ministry, said enforcement drives had been conducted continuously to prevent the use of current nets.
To protect and conserve fish, especially hilsa, the government carries out campaigns every year against those who catch jatka by using current nets.
However, the capture of jatka continues.
"We cannot take any step to stop production of current nets because of the pending cases with the upper court," he said.
“The ministry has given
top priority to having the court orders vacated and the pending cases quickly disposed of," the secretary said.
He added that they would sit with the law ministry soon to devise strategies so that “the production and use of current nets can be stopped forever”.