The Bangladesh Coast Guard detained 37 fishermen, along with three illegal artisanal trawling boats, trawling nets, and a large quantity of marine fish during an operation in the Bay of Bengal.
Coast Guard Media Officer Lieutenant Commander Sabbir Alam Sujan disclosed the information this afternoon (6 March).
He said that acting on a tip-off, the Coast Guard ship Sonar Bangla conducted a drive on 4 March at around 1pm in the deep-sea area, about 20 nautical miles southwest of the Mongla Fairway Buoy.
During the operation, three illegal artisanal trawling boats were seized from the area, he said.
Upon searching the boats, Coast Guard personnel recovered about 900 metres of trawling nets worth nearly Tk8 lakh and approximately 2,000 kilograms of marine fish, and detained 37 fishermen, he added.
Later, in the presence of the Mongla upazila fisheries officer, the detained fishermen, along with the seized artisanal trawling boats and other evidence, were handed over to Mongla Police Station for further legal action, the media officer said.
He added that the Coast Guard will continue such operations in the future to protect fisheries resources.
