A ban on netting, selling and transportation of hilsa -- for 22 days -- will start from midnight.
The ban will remain effective till October 25, as per decision of the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock.
According to fishermen and researchers, hilsa's movement from the sea to the river has already been disrupted due to several reasons, including climate change.
However, they hoped that fishermen would get good catch at the end of this season.
Sohag Hawladar, from Bhola's Sadar upazila, said he could not catch more than 20kg of hilsa over the last three days in the Meghna river. There is no fish in the river, he said.
Fazlu Gazi, one of the major hilsa wholesalers at Mahipur Hilsa Centre in Patuakhali, said, "I could not sell a single hilsa fish in the last few days. Such an incident has never happened."
He said, there was a depression in the bay after a 65-day ban, which prevented fishermen from going to the sea and the river. Apart from this, the ban usually starts during full moon every year, but this time it is going to start from the new moon, he added.
Our Barishal correspondent reports that at the Port Road Wholesale Fish Sales Centre in Barishal, around 200 maund of hilsa has been available over the last few days -- much less compared to earlier.
Nirab Hossain Tutul, secretary of the Matsya Aratdar Association, said catch of the fish was declining at an unusual rate.
Bimal Das, district fisheries officer in Barishal, said that movement of hilsa from the sea to the river is being disrupted. There are also chars, he added.
Over 300,000 fishermen are involved in catching hilsa fish in six districts of Barishal division. During the 22-day ban they will be given food aid, said Anisur Rahman Talukder, deputy director of the Divisional Fisheries Office.
Hilsa researcher Anisur Rahman told The Daily Star that the movement of hilsa is being hampered due to netting at the mouth of the river. Apart from this, climate change may also be a factor. The weather has been changing, and as a result, the arrival of hilsa seems to be changing.
