After a long shortage, some hilsa have finally started to be caught at sea and in coastal rivers, bringing relief to fishermen. But a fuel oil crisis has become a major obstacle, and many fishermen and traders are frustrated at being unable to fish as much as they want.

Local sources said that for the past three days fishermen off the Alipur-Mahipur coast in Kalapara upazila, Patuakhali, had been catching good quantities of hilsa. But for want of fuel many trawlers cannot go to sea, and those concerned fear a chance of big earnings this hilsa season will slip away.

The upazila administration has supplied about 60,000 litres of fuel over the past two days. Traders said this had eased the crisis for now but was still far short of demand.

Suman Das, general secretary of the owners' association at Mahipur, Patuakhali's largest fish landing centre, said fishermen were getting more hilsa after a long time. "But not every trawler can go to sea for want of fuel. The fuel from the administration has brought some relief, but the crisis is not over," he said.

Several fish traders in Alipur-Mahipur said it would be hard to keep up the catch unless fuel supply returned to normal.

Mahipur fish trader Ibrahim Company said: "There is fish in the nets, but without fuel we can't go to sea. We fear big business losses. Right now, if we go to sea with Tk 5 lakh worth of supplies, we can bring back Tk 10 lakh worth of fish, but we are stuck because of fuel."

Md Kamal Bepari, owner of a fish wholesale depot in Alipur, said catching hilsa at this time was a chance to make up the whole year's losses, but the fuel crisis had put them in serious trouble and adequate supply was urgently needed. "One of our trawlers needs 30 barrels of fuel to go to sea, but we are getting 4-5 barrels. What can that do? Then the ban starts eight days later, while equipment worth crores of taka lies idle. We are counting losses," he said.

Hilsa prices at the Alipur-Mahipur and Kuakata fish markets were high on Sunday. Hilsa of 300 grams sold at Tk 800 a kg, 500 grams at Tk 1,200, 700 grams at Tk 1,600 and 900 grams at Tk 2,000 a kg, while fish of over one kilogram sold at Tk 2,300 a kg.

Kalapara upazila fisheries officer Opu Saha said there had been no hilsa for a long time, but plenty had been seen in the past few days. The problem was the fuel crisis. The administration was supplying fuel to help fishermen and taking steps to keep the situation normal, he said, adding that he hoped good hilsa catches would come in the days before the ban.

Eight days remain before a 58-day ban on sea fishing begins on 15 April. The administration has taken steps, including the fuel supply, so that fishermen can fish without hindrance at least once before then. Fishermen say that without enough help in this short time, it will be hard for them to recover their losses.

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