A fishing trawler in the Bay of Bengal off Kalapara in Patuakhali has caught 46 maunds of hilsa in one haul. The fish sold at auction for Tk 48 lakh 50 thousand. The large catch in a single trawler after a long time has brought hope to fishermen and fish traders.

The trawler FB Junaid, led by skipper Alamgir, cast its net on 6 August in the deep sea near the last buoy of Payra seaport. People involved said about 2,200 hilsa came up in a single cast.

The trawler reached Mohipur fish landing centre with the catch around noon on Friday, 7 August, and the hilsa were sold by auction at the Monowara Fish wholesale depot.

According to the depot, 24 maunds of the catch were fish of one kilogram or more. They sold at Tk 1 lakh 15 thousand a maund, bringing in Tk 27 lakh 60 thousand, or Tk 2,875 a kg.

Another 22 maunds of hilsa weighing 800 to 900 grams sold at Tk 95,000 a maund, bringing in Tk 20 lakh 90 thousand. In all, the 46 maunds fetched Tk 48 lakh 50 thousand.

Skipper Alamgir said: "After nearly five years we have got such a big haul of hilsa at once. About 2,200 hilsa came up in one cast. After a long run of losses, we are very happy to get fish like this."

Sagir Akon, manager of Monowara Fish, said such a large shipment had arrived after a long time, prices were good and the fishermen got a fair price. Hilsa of this size are not usually caught in such numbers at once, he said.

Md Bakhtiar Rahman, research assistant at the "Sustho Sagor" (Healthy Seas) project run by WCS and WorldFish with funding from the Blue Action Fund, said most fishing boats had not been finding the hilsa they hoped for recently, so 46 maunds in one trawler was certainly good news and had given fishermen fresh hope.

He added that a large catch on one day cannot be taken as an indicator of overall hilsa abundance; that has to be judged on continuous monitoring and scientific data. To keep the positive trend, he said, fishermen's awareness, staying off fishing in the breeding season and consistent conservation work are very important.

Kalapara Senior Upazila Fisheries Officer Apu Saha said there had been a hilsa drought at sea until recently, but fishermen are now netting hilsa in shoals. If the rain continues, more hilsa could be caught in the coming days.

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