A giant hilsa has been caught in a fisherman's net in the Meghna river in Bhola. Weighing 2kg 560g, the fish sold for Tk 15,000 at midday on Tuesday, 8 September, at the Ramnewaz fish landing in the island upazila of Monpura, Bhola. It has since been sent to Karwan Bazar to be sold again for a higher price.

Fishermen Ibrahim Majhi and Jalal Majhi at Ramnewaz fish landing said that from Tuesday morning a crew led by fisherman Emran Majhi of Kalatali union in Monpura cast their nets in the Meghna in that area. When they hauled the net onto the trawler a few hours later, the giant hilsa came up along with hilsa of various sizes. Around midday they took it to the Ramnewaz landing and sold it at auction, where wholesaler Shawon Howlader bought it for Tk 15,000.

Shawon Howlader said he took part in an open auction with many wholesalers and traders and bought the fish with the top bid of Tk 15,000.

He said he had sent the 2kg 560g hilsa to Dhaka by launch in the afternoon along with other fish. A wholesaler he knows had phoned wanting to take it; if he offers a good price, he will get it. Otherwise, it could sell for more than Tk 16,000 to Tk 17,000 at Karwan Bazar.

Monpura acting upazila fisheries officer Joyonto Kumar Apu said that with the hilsa spawning season approaching, big hilsa have started coming into the rivers from the sea. During the new moon even larger hilsa will enter the rivers and be caught in fishermen's nets.

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