A hilsa weighing about three and a half kilograms has been caught in a fisherman's net in the Bay of Bengal. The fish was sold at auction for Tk 10,000 at the Ramgati fish landing in Laxmipur at midday on Friday (3 October).

The hilsa was caught by Mofiz Majhi, a resident of Chargazi union in Ramgati. "I went out to sea with 10 fishermen three days ago. When we cast the net on Thursday night (2 October), the big hilsa was caught," he said. Trader Oji Ullah later bought it from Helal Bepari's wholesale depot at the landing.

Depot owner Helal said Mofiz Majhi had come in with a large number of hilsa, and the big one went for Tk 10,000. "This is the first time a single hilsa has sold at such a price at my depot," he said.

The buyer, Oji Ullah, said the hilsa weighed about three and a half kilograms. "I bought it for Tk 10,000 and sent it to the wholesale market in Dhaka. I hope to sell it at a good price. Hilsa this big are caught now and then. At the wholesale market big hilsa fetch higher prices and are in greater demand," he said.

Meanwhile, the government has banned the catching of hilsa and all other species of fish in rivers from midnight on Friday to protect mother hilsa. With the 22-day ban approaching, Laxmipur's fish landings were crowded with hilsa buyers all day.

Trader Musa Ahmed Himu said fishing for hilsa in the river would stop from midnight, and Laxmipur's fish landings would stay closed for 22 days in a row. "It was really nice to see such a big hilsa at the landing before the drive begins. Mofiz Majhi sold about Tk 2.5 lakh worth of fish, including this hilsa," he said.

District fisheries officer Aminul Islam said the ban on fishing in the river had been imposed from midnight to protect mother hilsa. It covers the stretch from Alexander in Ramgati to Shatnol in Chandpur and stays in force until the night of 25 October. Catching, selling, buying or transporting fish during this period is punishable by imprisonment, a fine or both.

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