Bangladesh deploys warships to protect prized hilsa fish

Dhaka: Bangladesh s defence force said it has deployed warships and patrol aircraft as part of a special surveillance operation to protect a prized fi...

Dhaka: Bangladesh's defence force said it has deployed warships and patrol aircraft as part of a special surveillance operation to protect a prized fish from illegal fishing during its spawning season.

The herring-like hilsa, Bangladesh's national fish and a much-loved delicacy in West Bengal in neighbouring India, return from the Bay of Bengal to rivers each year to lay eggs.

Bangladeshi authorities said on Saturday they had imposed a three-week ban on fishing from October 4-25 to safeguard the spawning areas.

The defence force's Inter-Service Public Relations said in a statement that 17 navy warships and patrol helicopters had been deployed to enforce the ban and protect the fish.

"The warships and state-of-the-art maritime patrol aircraft have been conducting round-the-clock surveillance to prevent the intrusion of domestic and foreign fishermen into the deep sea," it said.