At dawn the Alipur-Mohipur ghat, Patuakhali's big fish landing centre, comes alive. Large trawlers return from the deep sea after fishing all night. One trawler after another moors at the pontoon, labourers stand ready to unload, wholesalers are busy with their accounts, and buyers hurry to buy fish and send it to Dhaka. The wholesale markets are busy all year, but although the catch has grown, big hilsa are missing. Maund upon maund of fish weighing 300 to 500 g is being sold at open auction.

On the morning of Friday 12 September, fish were being sold at 30 to 35 wholesale depots (aroths) in the port, each handling fish from three or four trawlers. Only some of these trawlers belong to this port; the rest come from Chattogram, Cox's Bazar, Banshkhali, Bhola, Noakhali, Sandwip, Hatiya and other places to sell here.

That is why the port is loud with calls whenever fish appear in the sea. But many fishermen are disappointed at not getting big fish: small fish come in larger quantities but earn them less, so every fisherman hopes to land big fish.

Fishermen say big fish have been declining for several years, and illegal trawling in the sea has also cut catches considerably. With the administration now stepping up surveillance of some trawling, it is on the way to being stopped, and some fish are being seen again.

Md Rasel, a fish trader at the Alipur fish landing centre, said sea fishermen now catch fewer big fish and more small ones weighing 300 to 400 g, which sell for Tk 15,500 to Tk 20,000 a maund. It takes five to eight of these fish to make a kilogram. Fish of 1 kg 800 g and 700 g are also found in the market, but in very small numbers.

Another trader, Yunus, said: "Plenty of fish are being seen at the Alipur centre, but they are all jatka and other sea fish. There are very few big hilsa. I bought some soft (slightly rotten) fish at Tk 250 a kg. The big fish from this port are very tasty and in high demand, but there are none now. When trawling was going on at sea, the fishermen got no fish of any kind."

According to fishermen, 1 kg hilsa sold for more than Tk 1 lakh a maund, 700 to 800 g hilsa for Tk 80,000 to 85,000, and 500 to 600 g hilsa for Tk 60,000 to 75,000. Most trawlers returned to the ghat with 10 to 50 maunds of fish.

Md Kamal Bepari, a wholesaler at the Alipur fish landing centre, said the centre has 35 fish depots in all, each of which sells fish from an average of two or three trawlers a day. Every trawler is now returning with fish, but none has big fish. Fishermen once found fish near the coast, but now shoals have formed at most places along the coast and the fish's habitat has changed, which he called a major reason for the lack of big fish.

Senior upazila fisheries officer Apu Saha said: "Recently we have noticed that mostly small hilsa are being caught. Because of the weather, fishermen often cannot go to the deep sea, so more small fish are being caught. When fishermen can go to the deep sea, more big fish will be seen." The ban period for jatka runs from 1 November to 30 June, so catching jatka is currently legal, he said.

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