A hilsa weighing about 3 kg, caught in a fisherman's net in the Meghna river off the island upazila of Hatiya in Noakhali, has sold for Tk 8,700.
The fish was auctioned at around 9pm on Sunday (14 July) at the Batan Khal Bou Bazar fish landing in Ward 3 of Char Ishwar union in the upazila. Local trader Nizam Uddin bought it.
Mofiz Majhi of the Daulat Khan area of Bhola caught the hilsa while fishing in the Meghna. He then brought it to the fish wholesale market (arot) of Abdul Halim Azad, a former chairman of Char Ishwar union. When Abdul Halim Azad called the auction, Nizam Uddin bought the fish for Tk 8,700. Many people gathered to see it on hearing that such a big hilsa had been caught.
Fewer fish, but bigger ones
Fisherman Mofiz Majhi said: "Few hilsa are being found in the river, but the ones we do get are very big. I cast my net in the river on Sunday morning and hauled it in at noon. A big hilsa was caught along with other fish. Then I took it to the Batan Khal Bou Bazar landing, where it was auctioned at the arot. Alhamdulillah, I got a good price."
Abdul Halim Azad, the former Char Ishwar union chairman, said that because of the ban at sea, fishers are fishing in nearby rivers. Although it is now peak season on the Meghna, few hilsa are being found, though for the past few days more hilsa of about 1 kg have been arriving. The hilsa of nearly 3 kg caught in Mofiz Majhi's net was a surprise, he said. Such big hilsa are not usually found, and its size fetched the higher price.
Hatiya upazila fisheries officer Md Fahad Hasan said: "Lately we have been getting news of big hilsa being caught. This is good news for everyone, including fishers, traders and arot owners. The government has essentially made the hilsa breeding season safe to increase fish production."
He added that safe sanctuaries have been created for fish and fishing at sea has been banned for set periods. As a result, fish are getting the chance to grow bigger, and breeding and production are rising day by day. Although fewer fish are being found in the river, more are likely to be caught once the ban ends.
Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.
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