Thousands of fishermen in Cox's Bazar are preparing to return to the sea as the government's 22-day ban on fishing ends at midnight tonight.

The ban, imposed to protect hilsa during the peak breeding season, prohibited catching, selling, and transporting the fish across the country.

Like many other fishermen in Moheshkhali upazila, Syed Ahmed have completed all preparations for their trawlers. Minor repairs were carried out earlier, and the crews have already stocked fuel and essential supplies.

"We're fully ready. We'll set off for the sea tonight. I don't know how much fish we'll get this time," said Syed Ahmed.

"Before the ban, we caught very little, barely enough to cover our costs. This time, I'm hoping for better luck."

To give a good start, Syed Ahmed prepared his small trawler costs around Tk 1.5 to 2 lakh, he said.

"The last 22 days were very difficult. I had to borrow money to run my family. I don't know any other work, whatever the profit or loss, I have to stay in this profession."

Cox's Bazar has around 5,000 fishing trawlers, many of which have already finished preparations to resume operations.

Nazir Ahmed, president of the Shahapur Island Fishing Trawler Owners' Association in Teknaf, said, "Around 100 trawlers from our dock will start sailing tonight. But given the sea's condition, I'm not sure how much fish we'll find. Fishing is getting harder every day, survival has become tough for us."

Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Meteorological Department, in a special weather bulletin, said that a low-pressure area over the southeast Bay of Bengal has intensified into a depression.

As of 6:00am this morning, it was centred about 1,320km south of Chattogram port and 1,245km south of Cox's Bazar port. It may continue to intensify into a cyclonic storm, the bulletin added.

With the ban lifted at midnight, hundreds of trawlers nationwide will resume fishing, marking the end of weeks of hardship for the community, though uncertainty still looms over what awaits them offshore.