Photo: Collected
Bhola Correspondent:
The flow of hilsa has suddenly increased in the Meghna and Tentulia rivers in the Charfasson area of Bhola. As ample hilsa has been caught in fishermen’s nets over the past three to four days, joy and bustle have returned to the local fish landing stations there, including Samraj, Betua and Dhalchar. At present each boat is returning to the ghat with about two to three maunds of hilsa at a time. Having got over the long-standing acute fish shortage, the fishermen are hoping to turn around anew. Alongside this, the movement of wholesale buyers and traders at the ghats has increased to a large extent.
A visit to various fish landing stations in Charfasson on Saturday (26 September) morning found hilsa being unloaded by the basketful from boats that had come ashore from the river. Among these fish, hilsa weighing from 500 grams to 1 kilogram 200 grams are the most numerous.
Local fishermen said that as they did not get the expected fish in the river over the past two months, they were compelled to run their families on loans and borrowings. The situation was such that many had hauled their boats and fishing nets up on land. However, as plenty of hilsa has been found in the river over the past few days, the bustle of work has returned once again to the fishing villages.
Expressing his feelings, Betua ghat fisherman Bellal Hossain said, ‘Allah has been kind to us. After returning empty-handed for quite some days, we are now getting plenty of hilsa as soon as we cast the net, and we are getting quite a good price in the market too.’
Md Aktar Member, a fish trader of Notun Sluice Ghat, said the presence of wholesalers has also increased as the supply of hilsa in the market has grown. At present, hilsa weighing one kilogram each are being bought and sold at Tk 1,800 to Tk 2,000 per kilogram, and hilsa weighing 500 to 600 grams at Tk 1,000 to Tk 1,200 a kilogram.
Explaining the matter, Charfasson upazila Senior Fisheries Officer Jayanta Kumar Apu said the benefits of the various steps taken by the government to protect mother hilsa during the breeding season and prevent the killing of jatka are now being reaped. Besides, because of heavy rainfall recently and water coming down from upstream, a huge quantity of hilsa is coming from the sea towards the rivers.
However, the fishermen allege that despite regular patrols by the Coast Guard, some unscrupulous people are still catching jatka using illegal current nets. They think stricter government measures and intensified drives are needed to stop the killing of jatka in order to keep the breeding and production of hilsa normal. Alongside this, local fishermen have demanded that the fishing ban scheduled from 8 October be deferred by another 15 days.
