THE Department of Fisheries is stepping up efforts to protect shrinking fisheries resources by imposing a three-month ban on a type of fishing net widely used in Myanmar, starting from this month.

The nets, known locally as boe kyaung, can catch small pomfret fish as they pass into the sea from their shallow spawning grounds, said an official from the department. The practice is mainly used in the Ayeyarwady delta region, where the small profret are bred.

“If we ban the use of these nets from April to June, we can protect the small pomfret and let them grow in the sea,” the official said.

He said the department had learnt that sea-caught pomfret were getting smaller, and protection might be necessary.

“We met with academics and fishing boat owners and thoroughly discussed the matter. Then we decided we had to act now to protect resources,” the official said.

An official from the Myanmar Fisheries Federation welcomed the ban and said the federation would work with the department to make sure the ban was effectively enforced and to educate fishermen about it.

“The ban is necessary and we believe it will be helpful to maintain our fishery stocks,” said executive federation member U Han Tun, adding that the benefits should be visible after the three-month period.

“We know there’s overfishing in Myanmar waters and we need to start acting,” he said.

The Department of Fisheries will collect samples of the fish from the sea as well as from the market to know the whether the ban is working.