At Chowar Fari in Saharbil union of Cox's Bazar's newly formed Matamuhuri upazila, a fish market that runs only from 6 am to about 9.30 am sells roughly Tk 50 million (Tk 5 crore) of fish a day. More than a hundred boats laden with baskets come up the canal to the landing; 24 wholesale sheds (arats) and local fishermen sell to wholesalers and buyers from Chattogram, Cox's Bazar and across the country.

At a quarter to six on Monday morning, 14 September, buyers rushed to the boats as they moored. Some bought directly from fishermen; others carried fish to the arats, where the wholesalers auctioned it to the highest bidder. Hilsa, sea bass (koral), bata, tengra, bagda and golda shrimp, datina, pangas, rui, katla, pabda, tilapia and mrigal are all on offer, most of it sold fresh without ice — the market's trademark across the district.

Each of the 24 arats sells about Tk 2 million of fish a day, or Tk 48 million in all; local fishermen selling separately add more than Tk 2 million. Wholesaler Shawkatul Islam said the arats take a commission of Tk 10 a kilogram for weighing and selling. With about 100 arat owners and 150 employees, the market supports at least 250 jobs.

Nurul Kabir, a schoolteacher from Chattogram's port area, bought four hilsa for Tk 4,000 that would have cost at least Tk 7,000 in the city, he said; his friend, lawyer Saiful Islam, paid Tk 4,400 for five kilograms of bagda shrimp. Nabiul Alam from Cox's Bazar town, shopping for his sister's wedding, bought 30 kg of shrimp for Tk 45,000 and five two-kilogram sea bass for Tk 12,500.

According to the Chakaria upazila fisheries office, Chakaria and Matamuhuri have about 45,500 acres of shrimp zone, most of whose output comes to this market; despite the name, sea bass, bata and tengra are farmed there as well. Elders say the market dates to the 1950s, when Jaladas fishing families sold fish caught in the Chakaria Sundarbans here, and that it grew once those mangroves were leased out as fish enclosures.

Fishermen said production is down this year because July's floods breached enclosure embankments and let fish escape, so prices are somewhat higher. Fisherman Abul Hashem put small sea bass at Tk 600-900 a kilogram, large ones at Tk 1,200-1,300, small hilsa at Tk 900-1,000 and hilsa over a kilogram at Tk 1,800-2,000. Matamuhuri upazila fisheries officer Anwarul Amin called it the largest fish market in the region. The report is by S M Hanif of Prothom Alo.

Source: Prothom Alo