Two large "king hilsa" caught in fishermen's nets in the sea estuary off Bhola have sold at auction for a top bid of Tk 12,900.

The two fish were auctioned on the morning of Friday, 4 September, at Taltoli fish landing next to Ilisha ferry ghat.

They were caught by local fisherman Md Miraj and his fellow boatmen and bought at an open auction by wholesaler Md Lokman Bepari. One fish weighed 2 kg 500 g and the other about 2 kg.

Md Sahabuddin Faraji, a wholesaler at Taltoli fish landing, said the two large fish were caught on Thursday along with hilsa of various sizes by Miraj Majhi and his team in the estuary near Monpura and Hatiya upazilas. The catch was brought to the landing at about 10am on Friday and put up for auction, and after a few minutes of bidding Lokman Bepari bought the pair for Tk 12,900.

He said the two fish would be sent to Dhaka with other hilsa. Because demand for large hilsa is high there, he expects each fish could sell for Tk 14,000 to 15,000.

Bhola district fisheries officer Md Delwar Hossain said the peak hilsa season is under way, when hilsa move from the sea into the rivers to spawn, so large fish are also being caught. With the breeding season next month, even larger hilsa may be caught, he said.

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