The interim government of Bangladesh has issued the Fisheries Protection and Conservation (Amendment) Ordinance, 2026, amending the 1950 law to prohibit fishing using electricity or electrofishing devices in any river, canal, or waterbody. The ordinance was promulgated by the President under Article 93(1) of the Constitution and took immediate effect. The Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Division of the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs issued the ordinance, confirmed by the ministry’s public relations officer Dr. Md. Rezaul Karim.

The amendment expands the legal definition of “waterbody” to include rivers, streams, estuaries, canals, haors, baors, lakes, floodplains, ponds, dighis, enclosures, and seasonally submerged wetlands. It also introduces explicit bans on using explosives or electric devices for fishing and allows strict legal action against violators. A new provision authorizes the government to declare “Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures” (OECMs) to protect aquatic biodiversity beyond designated protected areas.

The ordinance empowers the government to take necessary steps to prevent damage to inland and coastal aquatic ecosystems and to issue directives for sustainable fisheries management, aiming to preserve fish resources and ecological balance.