One fishing trawler with 9 fishermen sunk 26 robbed in Bay

A fishing trawler was sunk and 26 others robbed on Friday night

Patuakhali: At least 26 trawlers have been robbed in the Sonarchar Chaibam area, 60 nautical miles from Kuakata. The robbers looted at least 100 tons of hilsa from the trawlers. A trawler named FB Bhai Bhai was sunk by a group of robbers during an hour-long frenzy around 12:00 on Friday night. Later the fishermen of a trawler called Mayer Doa rescued the fishermen of the sunken trawler.

The owner of FB Bhai Bhai Trawler, Md. Shafi Mia, said that the robbers sank his trawler because they were prevented from looting hilsa.

Coast Guard, Nizampur Contingent Commander Md. Arif said, after hearing the incident, Coast Guard patrol has been increased in the sea.

Didaruddin Ahmed Masum, president of Alipur, Mahipur Fisheries Cooperative Association, said that on July 28, seven trawlers in Mohipur and five trawlers in Patharghata area were robbed, which he said was unexpected.

Meanwhile, a number of fish traders in Mahipur and Alipur area said that after 65 days of fishing ban, mass robbery has started in the sea.

He mentioned that hundreds of fishermen will stop fishing if the concerned administration does not look into the matter.

On the other hand, a survey of Alipur-Mahipur fish traders has revealed that almost every year in the sea due to robbery and ransom demands, about 450 fishermen have left this profession and moved to other professions in the last eight years. If the government does not take steps to stop robbery in the sea, people will not be found to hunt fish in the future, they said. - Gofran Biswas