Poor chatching of hilsa in the very beginning of the season has frustrated the fishermen, fish merchants, investors and ice factory owners in Barisal coastal areas.
Catching of hilsa fish begins normally from the first week of Bangla Jaistha month (mid-May) and continued to late autumn (October).
After lifting of the ban on hilsa netting on June 1, fishermen started catching fishes again, but they were returning home almost empty handed.
According to locals, a large number of fishermen are going to different rivers, river estuaries and deep sea with their fishing trawlers
to catch hilsa. But most of them are being frustrated due to poor catching of hilsa.
Thousands of people, engaged in hilsa trade, including fishermen, trawler owners, ice factories, capital investors and net lenders, have been badly affected by the sudden fall in the hilsa netting, carrying, processing in Barisal region.
Fishermen said hundreds of fishing boats and trawler were busy in netting hilsa almost 24 hours at Kalapara, Galachipa, Daulatkha, Borhanuddin, Tajumuddin, Charfession, Manpura, Ilisha, Veduria, Monpura, Hatiya, Ramgati, Nizampur, Bidda-Sahkina, Patharghata, Mathbaria, Vasanchar, Sreepur, Patarhat, Chandramohon, Muladi, Hizla-Gourabdi, Char Gaguria, Maskazirchar, Antorbam, coastal areas of Barisal division on branches and estuaries of Meghna, Padma, Arial Kha, Kirtankhola, Tentulia, Andharmanik, Balweser, Payera, Ramnabad and Agunmukha rivers .
About 12 big hilsa-trade centres in Barisal region including Barisal Port Road, Alipur, Mohipur, Patherghata, Monpura, Hizla, Ilisha, Gupter Bazer Galachipa, Patarhat, Pirojpur Machghat are now empty of hilsa.
With the trawlers touching the fish ghats at Alipur, Mohipur of Kalapara in Patuakhali and Barisal port road area, people rush near the trawlers to see the catch but they are appalled at the poor catch.
The ice factories have gone into operation for producing ice for the processing of hilsa. The wholesalers have opened hilsa purchasing centres. But poor catching of hilsa has frustrated all of them.
Due to poor catching, price of hilsa fish have shot up beyond the purchasing capacity of the common people and workers at Hilsa fishing trade centres of the region are passing their times by gossiping and playing cards.
Khaja Yunus, a hilsa whole seller of Barisal fish market, said since last few years hilsa traders had been facing an acute crisis of hilsa fish during the starting of the season.
Ajit Kumar Das, president of Barisal Zilla Matsya Aratder Samity, said members of the Samity was reduced to only 60 from 138. A large number of hilsa traders of this region already had windup their business due to the reason and were doing seasonal fruit business in hilsa centre market areas, he said.
Rashid Majhi, a fisherman who went to the bay for hilsa fishing and returned after a 10- day trip, said that they had returned with only two mounds of hilsa on June 26 spending about Tk 2 lakh.
He also said that at the same time of last year they managed to net about 100 mounds of hilsa per trip.
Yusuf Ali, secretary of Bangladesh Non-frozen Fish Exporters Association and Barisal Fish Merchants association, said that they were incurring loss every year facing the crisis of hilsa.
The traders of the region who had already invested over Tk 100 crore in hilsa trading in advance this year were suffering from frustration, he said.
They blamed various climate-related changes and man-made disasters for poor netting and changing of Hilsa season.
Source : New Age
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