The High Court has temporarily thwarted the government's plan to issue 25 fresh licences for fishing in the Bay of Bengal without stock survey—a move which would have left the country's marine resources vulnerable to overexploitation.

A High Court bench comprising Justice Salma Masud Chowdhury and Justice Zafar Ahmed issued the order last week restraining the government from giving out any seafishing licence for the next three months.

The order comes following a writ petition filed by Beryl Health Education and Environment Foundation, challenging the government's invitation for applications for fresh sea-fishing permits in Bangla- language daily Janakantha on August 30.

"Fish stock in the Bay is depleting alarmingly. The number of fishing trawlers is not falling, and we are afraid that overfishing will threaten nutrition supply for the next generation," said Advocate Md Raziuddin Sarwar, a lawyer for the petitioner.

The court also issued a rule asking the government to explain why its move should not be declared unlawful and illegal, he added.

"We think the government is not on the right track as it has initiated the process of issuing new licences without any meaningful survey. In doing so, it has also gone against one of its earlier decisions."

The government in 2007 agreed not to issue any new permit before conducting a thorough stock survey of the Bay, Sarwar said.

Meanwhile, the fisheries ministry has already formed a committee to evaluate the applications, giving the panel two weeks to recommend the names of competent bidders—a move which, industry insiders say, reflects the government's rush to dole out the gratuitous licences to its party men before its tenure ends.

The insiders went on to term the move a means to fetch windfall for the ruling party people. Of the 34 licences issued in 2011, the majority were for Awami League party-men, many of whom made a profit by re-selling them.

"Our position is clear: the government can issue as many licences it wants, but it should be after assessing the stock of fish resources. Without the marine reassessment survey, we do not think the decision to issue new licenses is correct and realistic," said Ahsan Iqbal Chowdhury, secretary general of Bangladesh Marine Fisheries Association (BMFA).

AKM Nowsad Alam, professor of Bangladesh Agricultural University's department of fisheries technology, added that fish stock in the sea is under pressure due to "indiscriminate catching".

"Before, the trawlers would only catch large fish, but now due to their relative scarcity the operators go for whatever they find - juvenile fish make up the majority of their catch.”

The fisheries ministry, however, overlooked the suggestion and caution in July and instead went ahead and issued 15 licences for mid-water fishing and lOforlong-linervessels.

Mid-water trawlers will be allowed to catch fish between the 40- and 200-metre depth and long-liners beyond the 200-metre depth of the Bay, according to a notice published in newspapers. The licences come at a time when nearly 200 trawlers out of299 and thousands of boats already catch fish in the sea, putting pressure on the limited marine resources.

"Already, the catch per vessel has fallen, which indicates the depletion of fish stock," Chowdhury said, adding that many countries such as Thailand and Singapore now suffer from overfishing.

BFMA has, therefore, urged the government to withdraw the decision.

The survey into fish stock in Bangladesh's exclusive economic zone area in the Bay has not taken place for over two decades due to absence of research vessels.

When asked, Fisheries Secretary Ujjwal Bikash Dutta said the decision to issue licences was taken in consultation with the stakeholders. "Themajoritydid not oppose"