A two-month ban on fishing at five sanctuaries in nine major rivers in the country's southern region started yesterday.

The government had introduced the ban in 2006 to facilitate safe spawning and increase national fishing wealth by saving fish fries.

Under the ban, nobody can catch any kind of fish by any means from those rivers in six districts -- Barishal, Bhola, Patuakhali, Shariatpur, Chandpur and Laxmipur.

A total of 432km stretch of the rivers Ilisha, Meghna, Tentulia, Kalabador, Andharmanik, Gojaria, Lota and Padma are under the purview of the ban.

Bimal Chandra Das, a district fishery officer, said of the stretch 100km is from Shatnol to Char Alexander, 20km in Shariatpur district, 90km from Char Ilisha to Char Pial, 82km from Kirtankhola Habinagar to Char Megha, 100km from Char Veduria to Char Rustom and 40km in Patuakhali district.

The prohibition is effective from March 1 to April 30 for preventing fishermen from fishing in a bid to give a boost to fishery resources, said the official.

“We've sent letter to law enforcing agencies and local administrations seeking their help and asking to hold meetings with fishermen in this regard,” said Dr Azizul Haque, acting district fishery officer in Barishal. “We already started propagation and will start mobile court drives.”

“Fishermen are yet to be aware about the anti-fishing ban,” said Anowar Hossain, a fisherman of the Kirtankhola river in Barishal Sadar upazila.

Israil Pandit, president of Khudra Matsyajibi Samity, however, said without sufficient compensation for fishermen, the 60-day ban will not succeed.