Even with rain, fishers in Bhola are not finding the hilsa they hoped for in their nets in the Meghna and Tetulia rivers, leaving about 3 lakh fishers in the district in difficulty. The shortage has hit local markets too, where buyers are going home empty-handed. Hilsa researchers say the drought of hilsa in the rivers is an effect of climate change.

More than 3 lakh fishers in Bhola's seven upazilas make their living catching hilsa and other fish in the Meghna and Tetulia, of whom only 1,67,970 are registered with the government. After a two-month government ban, fishers went back to the rivers on 1 May, but finding no hilsa, this large community is in distress.

Jagonews spoke to fishers in several areas of Bhola Sadar upazila, including Kathir Matha in Kachia union, Tulatuli in Dhania union, Bholar Khal in Shibpur union and Hajir Hat in Bheduria union.

Among them, Md Syed Majhi and Md Monir Hossain Majhi of Kathir Matha village said the two of them took a boat onto the Meghna at Tulatuli and cast their net twice from morning to afternoon, for about five to six hours in all, without catching a single hilsa. They caught several bata and chhura, or tapsi, fish of various sizes, which they sold at the ghat for just Tk 500.

"The ban on the river ended a few days ago. During that time we ran our households on borrowed money. For several days now we have not been getting hilsa, which has made it hard to run the household. We cannot even pay the NGO instalments. Every day we are under pressure from household costs and the samity instalments."

The two men, who have fished for about 20 years, said there had been many shortages of hilsa in the river before, but they still caught two to four fish. They had never known a shortage like this, and they are worried.

Md Shahjahan Majhi and Majnu Majhi of Tulatuli village said that every year hilsa used to be caught once the rains began. This year, despite heavy rain in May, no hilsa have yet come into their nets. They have never seen such a drought, and the shortage has left them in trouble.

Md Rasel Majhi and Nazrul Majhi of Bholar Khal gave the same account of borrowing through the ban, struggling to run their households and being unable to pay NGO and samity instalments.

Md Nurunnabi Majhi and Imon Majhi of Hajir Hat in Bheduria said that because of the shortage after the ban, many fellow fishers no longer go out on the river, and many have left fishing to work as day labourers.

The shortage has also hit Bhola, the district that accounts for 33 per cent of the country's hilsa catch.

Md Arifur Rahman and Md Hossain, buyers at the Kitchen Market in the town, said only two or three people now bring hilsa to the market to sell, and only a few fish at that, which sell at high prices. Hilsa has become a golden deer in the market and, because of the high price, a food for the well-off.

Fish sellers Md Ruhul Amin and Md Nagar said they used to sell hilsa in the market every day but have not been able to for several days because of the shortage at the ghat. When a fisher brings fish, the auction price goes very high, and those who sell wholesale to depots in Dhaka, Barishal and Chandpur buy them at the higher price.

One of them said: "Those of us who sell in the local market cannot buy at such high prices and sell on, so we cannot buy. So small fish are now sold in the market. If we sold hilsa, the fish would sell quickly and the profit would be higher."

Fish seller Md Ibrahim said hilsa cannot be bought at the ghat as before. "I buy a few, and at a high price. And because the market price is high, they take a long time to sell." A 500-gram hilsa that he used to sell at retail for at most Tk 1,000 now sells for Tk 2,200-2,500. A 300-350-gram hilsa that used to cost Tk 500-600 now costs Tk 1,500-1,600. Jatka that he used to sell for Tk 200-300 a kg now sells for Tk 1,200 a kg, and a 1-kg hilsa that used to sell for Tk 1,700-2,000 now sells for Tk 4,000 to Tk 4,500 a kg.

District fisheries officer Md Iqbal Hossain said very few hilsa are now being found in the river because of climate change. If rainfall increases further, however, there is a chance that hilsa numbers in the river will rise somewhat.

Dr Md Anisur Rahman, a hilsa researcher at the Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute (BFRI), said the peak hilsa season runs from July to mid-November. Hilsa are also found in good numbers in the rivers in May and June because of rainfall, though fewer than in the peak season.

He said very few hilsa are being found at present because of climate change. If this is not researched and proper action taken, the hilsa resource will be under threat. In addition, the catching of jatka and mother hilsa gradually affects hilsa production.

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