Hilsa supply in Pirojpur's markets is low even at the height of the season. Even after the 58-day fishing ban ended, fishermen are not catching the hilsa and other sea fish they expected. As a result, prices of all kinds of fish have risen, and local fish are no longer found in rivers and canals as before.

A tour of markets in Pirojpur town found prices of almost all fish rising. Small hilsa, or jatka, are selling at Tk 1,200 a kg, while medium and large hilsa fetch Tk 1,600 to Tk 3,000.

The picture is the same for other sea fish, with various species selling at Tk 450 to Tk 1,200 a kg. Pomfret (rupchanda) costs Tk 1,000 to Tk 1,200 a kg.

There is no relief in farmed fish either, which cost Tk 200 to Tk 700 a kg depending on the species. Rui sells at Tk 250 to Tk 450, pangas at Tk 220 to Tk 250 and morma at Tk 400 to Tk 500. The rise in fish prices has also affected the poultry market: broiler chicken now sells at Tk 180 to Tk 190 a kg, cock (Sonali cockerel) at Tk 380 to Tk 400 and Sonali chicken at Tk 330 to Tk 350.

Traders complain that the use of illegal China duari nets is killing fry and small fish, disrupting the breeding and spread of local species and steadily reducing fish production in natural water bodies. With both sea and local fish scarce, the market now depends more on farmed fish.

Fish traders also believe that trawling and fishing vessels at sea are killing fish hatchlings, reducing production. Higher production costs are putting farmed fish beyond the reach of ordinary people. Overall, the fish market is unstable and in crisis, and ordinary buyers are suffering.

Buyers complain that their incomes have not risen while prices of essential food keep climbing, putting fish and meat beyond many families' means.

Rafiq Uddin, a trader at the municipal fish market in Pirojpur Sadar upazila, said: "It's peak hilsa season, but there's hardly any hilsa in the market. What would we sell? We can't even get enough for ourselves. The market used to be full of hilsa at this time, but now there's none."

Trader Azmal Sheikh said: "Some China nets have come out that are destroying our local fish. We used to get a lot of fish in the rainy season, but now we don't see fish like before. Trawlers at sea kill the fish fry, and that's why fish have declined. The government should take steps on this."

Shahjalal Sheikh, who came to buy fish, said: "At these hilsa prices, people like us can't afford it. There's hardly any fish in the market, and what there is, they ask Tk 3,000 for. Hilsa is now rich people's food, a luxury for poor people like us."

District fisheries officer Sanjib Sannamat said: "Hilsa is a sea fish. In the season it comes from the sea into rivers to spawn. But there are now many submerged shoals in the rivers, which obstruct hilsa coming in from the sea. That may be why fewer hilsa are being seen in the rivers. Also, the hilsa caught by fishermen in Pirojpur go to different parts of the country, which is why fewer are seen in the district's local markets."

He added: "China duari nets are destroying the breeding of local fish. District and upazila fisheries officers are regularly conducting drives to destroy these illegal nets, and such drives will continue to boost the breeding of local fish."

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