The Cabinet on Monday approved in principle a draft bill having a provision of two years’ jail or fine for the import of harmful, banned fish, fry and fish products, aiming to control the spread of diseases and microbes in fish.

The bill, ‘The Fisheries Quarantine Bill, 2017’, was approved at the regular weekly meeting of the Cabinet held at the Secretariat with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair, reports UNB.

Briefing reporters after the meeting, Cabinet Secretary Mohammad Shafiul Alam said various diseases spread in many ways in the country through the import of fry and fish products.

The government is formulating the law as it wants to control the spread of diseases through fish as well as regulate the import of banned fish like ‘African Magur’ and ‘Piranha’, he said.

The Cabinet Secretary said maximum two years of imprisonment or Tk 5 lakh fine or both could be awarded for violation of the law.

Shafiul Alam said no person or organisation will be able to import fish poops, fish products and such packaging goods without the prior permission of the Department of Fisheries. The import of such products without permission will be a punishable offence, he added.

Alam said quarantine will be defined as keeping isolated and separated fish, fry, fish products or packaging of such products imported from abroad or keeping under observation or confining such products as per the directives of the Fisheries Quarantine officer in places specified by the government for a particular period of time.

Besides, under the new law, the government could establish a quarantine station at any land or river port or airport of the country through a gazette notification, he added.

As per the draft law, the government can constitute an authority to give suggestions over fisheries quarantine, Alam said.

Ministers, State Ministers and secretaries concerned were present.