Hilsa are being caught in nine upazilas of Kurigram and Gaibandha districts in Rangpur division. But although hilsa were found in the Teesta in Rangpur two years ago, they are no longer found there. If the navigability of the Teesta and other rivers could be restored, the rivers of the Rangpur region could become hilsa sanctuaries, but the necessary steps are needed.

According to the Department of Fisheries in Rangpur, hilsa are being found in five upazilas of Kurigram and four of Gaibandha, though in smaller quantities than elsewhere in the country. The two districts yield 60 to 70 tonnes of hilsa a year. As in the rest of the country, hilsa fishing was recently banned in the two districts from 4 October to 22 October, during which 260 tonnes of rice were allocated to 1,300 fishers.

According to the fisheries department, hilsa were found in the Teesta at Mohipur in Gangachara until two years ago, but not any more. Explaining why, retired fisheries survey officer Zubayer Ali said hilsa are essentially a sea fish, found in rivers linked to the sea. In the Rangpur region the Brahmaputra runs fast in the monsoon, so hilsa are found there at that time.

He said the Teesta was once fast-flowing and hilsa used to come up from the sea to lay eggs. There is no alternative to restoring the rivers' navigability to bring hilsa back to the region; if the rivers can be made fast-flowing again, hilsa will be found here as elsewhere in the country, he said.

Ranjit Kumar, general secretary of the fish farmers' association in Sundarganj, Gaibandha, said plenty of hilsa are caught in the Brahmaputra in Gaibandha in the monsoon and meet local demand.

Manjurul Islam, additional director of the Department of Fisheries in Rangpur, said hilsa are being found in a total of nine upazilas of Kurigram and Gaibandha, and 1,300 fish farmers in these upazilas received support under the government's hilsa fishing ban programme.

Source: Bangladesh Pratidin. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.