Native fish vanish from Derai haor as pesticide and poisoning take toll

Native fish have become scarce in the haor wetlands of Derai upazila in Sunamganj, local fishers say. A whole day of casting nets and lines in the rivers, canals and beels often brings them home almost empty-handed. They blame heavy use of chemical fertiliser and pesticide on rice fields, the poisoning of water bodies and the loss of breeding grounds.

Villagers once turned out in festive crowds to fish when the haor water began to recede, catching puti, bheda, pabda, shol, gajar, boal and many other native species with nets, lines and bamboo traps. Shol, rui and catla still turn up in the market, locals say, but they are nowhere near as plentiful in open water as before.

Rice is one of the main livelihoods in the haor. Residents fear that fertiliser and pesticide applied to raise yields wash into the water bodies with rain and field run-off, damaging fish habitat and disrupting the movement, survival and breeding of fish.

People living around the haor also allege poisoning. Liton Das, who lives beside Chapti haor, said beels are leased out and some leaseholders use poison to catch fish, killing fry and eggs and preventing breeding. Derai fishers Khaleque, Jewel and Masum said fish is not only food for them but their living, and their income has fallen with the catch.

Residents want breeding and feeding grounds protected, poisoning stopped, safe use of fertiliser and pesticide on farmland ensured and closer monitoring of beel leases. The Derai upazila fisheries officer also said excessive chemical fertiliser and pesticide in rice fields is a threat to freshwater native fish, and that farmers and others need to be made aware of it.

Open-water fish from the haor are the main source of affordable protein for rural families. Because rice fields and beels share the same water, applying pesticide at the right dose and time is one of the simplest ways to protect haor fisheries. The report is by Krishi Shomoy's Sunamganj correspondent.

Photo: Balaram Mahalder / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Source: Krishi Shomoy