KHULNA, Jan 16: Crab collection in the Sundarbans and its adjacent areas is officially banned from January 01 to February 29, as is the crab breeding season.
At the same time, restrictions will be placed on coastal riverbed and canal areas. To prevent illegal crab collection, the smart patrol team of forest Department is patrolling all the canals under the Sundarbans of Khulna Range every day.
Once shrimp was the main source of economy of the southern region but the shrimp virus has caused shrimp farmers to heavy losses. So now the farmers are seeing a little light face by farming crabs. Farmers have become dependent on soft-shell crab farming to compensate for the loss of shrimp farming.
As there is no crab hatchery to produce brood so they have to collect crab brood from the natural source of adjacent rivers and canals of Sundarbans. After collecting crab brood or small size of crab from the natural sources, the farmer allow those to grow by feeding in their farms.
Therefore, in order to increase the production of crabs, people of the coastal areas should be aware of stopping crab collection from natural sources during the breeding season.
The government has been imposing the ban since January 01, 2008 to February 29 for two months, every year, as it is breeding season for crabs. Although these two months the crabs catching from Sundarbans are officially closed by the government but with the help of a class of unscrupulous forest guards, it does not often stop.
Some fishermen are reported to have taken the opportunity to catch the crabs with fishing traps. In this connection, people seek intervention of administration to stop the rise in crab catching from Sundarbans these two months.
Khulna Divisional Forest Officer Muhammad Saeed Ali said every day the Forest department personnel have been patrolling through smart patrol teams in all the canals under the Sundarbans of Khulna Range to prevent illegal crab collection.
Meanwhile, six fishermen have been arrested and produced before court for catching crabs in the banned areas of the forest. The campaign continues on the basis of information from our Forrest department's own sources and information from the socially aware people of the coast to prevent illegal collection of crabs during the breeding season.
Responding to the question that the crabs are being seen sold in the local market openly, he said these crabs are produced from their own firm so we have no scope to intervene.
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