A "raja" hilsa weighing 2 kg 700 grams sold for Tk 15,930 in Patharghata, Barguna.

The fish was bought at auction by Messrs New Al Amin Fish at the Patharghata BFDC fish landing centre on the morning of Thursday, 10 September.

The hilsa was caught overnight in the net of boatman Altaf Hossain in the Baleshwar river next to Patharghata upazila. When it was brought to the BFDC landing centre, a wholesaler named Palash of New Al Amin Fish bought it at auction at a rate of Tk 2.36 lakh per maund.

Imran Hossain Rifat, a wholesaler at the BFDC landing centre, told Jago News that there are fewer large hilsa this season than last year. "Even so, we are happy that a 2.7 kg raja hilsa was caught in a fisherman's net. The fish will now be taken to the Khulna market for sale," he said.

Golam Mostafa Chowdhury, president of the Barguna District Fishermen's Trawler Owners' Association, told Jago News that such a large hilsa is rarely seen, and big hilsa being caught is certainly good news for fishermen. Big hilsa are now being found in coastal areas as well as the deep sea. But fishermen are still not getting the catch they hoped for, and he expects more hilsa to be caught in the days ahead.

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