Seventeen fishermen from Kalapara in Patuakhali caught 195 maunds of hilsa after casting their nets at sea for four days. The fish were later sold for Tk 40 lakh 14 thousand.
The catch was brought by trawler on the evening of Friday (10 January) to a fish wholesale house named Messrs Five Star Fish at Alipur in the upazila.
Before that, the fish were auctioned through the day, with bids reaching Tk 40 lakh 14 thousand. The hilsa were caught on Tuesday and Wednesday in the deep sea 90 kilometres south-east of Kuakata.
Four days at sea
The fishing trawler FB Bismillah-1 left Alipur ghat with 17 fishermen on Monday (6 January) to catch hilsa. The fish were caught after nets were cast in different areas of the sea over four days.
At the Alipur fish landing centre the fish were sorted into three sizes. Because the fish were small, the price was lower. Fish of 600 to 800 grams sold at Tk 40,000 a maund, fish of 400 to 500 grams at Tk 25,000 a maund and small fish at Tk 15,000 a maund. Other species sold for Tk 54,000. In all, the trawler brought in fish worth Tk 40 lakh 14 thousand.
Owner hopes to recover losses
Khalilur Rahman Khan, owner of FB Bismillah-1, said: "For a long time very few fish have been caught at sea. We were counting losses. By selling this fish we will be able to recover some of the earlier losses."
The trawler's master, Ekhlas Gazi, said: "We got the fish by casting nets in the deep sea near Cox's Bazar while fishing. Fish are not being caught at sea these days. Even so, Almighty Allah has given us fish. Alhamdulillah."
Kalapara upazila senior fisheries officer Apu Saha said so many fish are not always found on one trawler at once. Fishermen are often disheartened when they catch nothing, but news like this inspires them. "I would call it a success for them," he said.
Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.
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