The Sundarbans is now being closed for three months from the first day of this current month (June 1) to protect wildlife and river-canal fish migration. During this time, the entry of tourists, the movement of regular people, and fishing in the world’s largest mangrove forest rivers and canals will be prohibited.
Shyama Prasad Roy, officer-in-charge of Kashiabad Forest Station in Sundarbans, said, “Fishing has been banned in all rivers and canals of Sundarbans for 92 days from June 1, and tourist entry has also been banned. All types of pass-permits to enter the Sundarbans will be closed. At this time, the forest department will take a strict stand to stop wildlife hunting and fishing. The shrimp fry and crab seed collection is also stopped.
He said, ‘Most of the fish in the rivers and canals of Sundarbans lay their eggs during the three months of breeding season from June to August. Due to this reason, fishing in all rivers and canals has been stopped from June 1 to August 31 every year since 2019 to protect the fishery resources of the Sundarbans.
Abdul Hakim, officer-in-charge of Kalabagi Ecotourism Center of Sundarbans, said, “The main purpose of blocking access to Sundarbans for three months is to increase fish reproduction. As a result, the travel of visitors to all the tourist centers of Sundarbans will be closed. Because, during this time, if the tourist boats move in the river and canal, the breeding activities of the fish will be disturbed.
According to the information of the Forest Department, the Sundarbans has total 6 thousand 17 square kilometers of watershed. Bangladesh has 1 thousand 874.1 square kilometers, which is 31.15 percent of the entire Sundarbans water area. There are 210 species of fish, 24 species of shrimps, 14 species of crabs in the waters of Sundarbans.
