Fishing in Kaptai Lake resumed on Saturday midnight after the end of a three-month restriction on fishing by the local administration to ensure the natural reproduction of craps fish.
Fish caught from the Kaptai lake began to arrive at the four landing stations of Bangladesh Fisheries Development Corporation (BFDC) on Sunday morning.
Kaptai Lake produces a significant quantity of fish each year not only meeting local demand but also supplying markets in various districts of the country.
Local administration had imposed a three-month ban on fishing and marketing in the lake from May 1, aiming to ensure the natural breeding and growth of fish, particularly to increase the population of carp species in South Asia's largest man-made lake.
Although the initial ban was scheduled to end on July 31, a meeting on July 28 decided to extend the restriction by two additional days, until midnight of August 2, due to lack of preparedness for resuming full-scale fishing.
However, fishermen began fishing from midnight only to find that the newly rising water levels had affected fish growth.
Traders expressed dissatisfaction over the small size of species such as kachki and chapila fish.
According to the fishermen, many big fish died in the lake due to the heavy rainfall that caused swelling of water into the lake.
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If this new fry fish was caught after another 15 days the fish that is now sold for taka one crore would have been sold for more than Tk 4 crore, they said.
Commander Md. Fayez Al Karim, Manager of BFDC Rangamati, said that after three months and two days of restrictions all types of fishing, marketing and transportation resumed on Kaptai Lake from Saturday midnight.
BFDC had made all necessary preparations at the landing centres.
“We are optimistic that this year’s catch will exceed last year’s target,” he added.
In 1960, a dam was built on the Karnaphuli River in Kaptai upazila of Rangamati for hydropower generation, creating a vast reservoir of 725 square kilometres.
This man-made lake—the largest of its kind in Southeast Asia—submerged 54,000 hectares of agricultural land in Rangamati.
The lake produces 230 megawatts of electricity from five units of the Kaptai Hydropower Station and generate significant revenue from fishery resources. Approximately 27,000 fishermen rely on the lake for their livelihood.