A baghair (goonch catfish) weighing 90 kilograms was caught in the Brahmaputra in Chilmari upazila, Kurigram. It came up in the net of fisherman Narendra Nath on Friday morning at Putimari in Raniganj union, Prothom Alo reports.
Saju Mia, a fish trader at Thanahat bazaar, bought the fish for Tk 1.1 lakh. That evening it was cut up at Pumpmor in Chilmari and sold retail at Tk 1,500 a kilogram, fetching Tk 1.35 lakh in all. Pictures of the fish spread on social media on Saturday and became the talk of the area.
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) list, the baghair is critically endangered, and catching it is a punishable offence under the Wildlife (Conservation and Security) Act. Because the law is not enforced, the fish is caught and sold in the open.
Saju Mia said that with the Brahmaputra's water falling, fishermen are now netting large fish such as baghair and pangas. Demand is high; businesspeople, industrialists, civil servants and politicians order them in advance, and the fish are delivered to buyers.
Md Emdadul Haque, Chilmari upazila fisheries officer (additional charge), said he had heard about the large baghair. Everyone, not only the fisheries department, has to come forward to protect the breeding of the Brahmaputra's large native fish, he said.
Photo: Henry Sullivan Thomas / Wikimedia Commons (public domain)
Source: Prothom Alo
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