Tens of thousands of fishermen are prepared to return to the Meghna River in Bangladesh’s Chandpur district, as a government-enforced two-month fishing ban expires at midnight on Friday. For the first time, authorities provided direct financial assistance to about 8,500 hilsa fishing households left without income during the closure.

The seasonal ban, covering March and April, halted all fishing along a 60-kilometre stretch of the Meghna from Shatnol in Matlab Uttar to Char Bhoirabi in Haimchar. It is one of six sanctuaries where such bans are routinely imposed to protect hilsa breeding.

The local fisheries office said it had mounted its largest enforcement campaign this year. Fifty mobile courts conducted more than 500 drives, and over 200 fishermen were penalised for breaching the ban.

With the restriction lifting, fishing villages and landing sites were described as festive. Fishermen raced through last-minute repairs to boats, nets and engines, and loaded trawlers with supplies ahead of the midnight departure.

Many acknowledged they had relied on borrowing to sustain their families through the income freeze. Their immediate priority, they said, was to land large catches and clear their debts.

Fish wholesale markets also revived. Traders and depot owners anticipated that catches would fill the riverside stations overnight, boosting supply to local markets.

The fisheries department said intensive surveillance throughout the ban had shielded the breeding cycle. Officials forecast a significant rise in hilsa production this season, and urged fishermen to obey rules barring illegal nets and the capture of undersized fish.