A hilsa weighing about 3kg has been caught in a fisherman's net at Bisharikathi village in Bakerganj, Barishal. The fisherman said he sold it to a wholesale fish trader for Tk 10,700.

The hilsa was caught in the net of local fisherman Sohel Molla in the Arial Khan river in Bakerganj upazila on Friday (7 November).

He took it to the Paloan fish wholesale market, where the owner, Monir Paloan, bought it for Tk 10,700. Many curious people crowded into the market to see the fish.

Monir Paloan said hilsa of this size are not usually seen in Barishal's rivers. River hilsa normally weigh between one and one and a half kilograms, and a three-kilogram fish is a rare catch, he said.

He added that large hilsa have begun returning to the rivers because of the government's strict surveillance against catching jatka (juvenile hilsa), the fishing ban in the breeding season, the removal of illegal nets and the expansion of sanctuaries.

Fishermen believe that more effective steps to control river pollution and encroachment would increase the movement of hilsa and boost production. Sohel Molla was pleased to have sold such a large fish.

"A hilsa this big comes into the net only once or twice in a lifetime," he said. "I got a good price. I have to say I was lucky."

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.