Across West Bengal it is raining, on and off in some places and heavily in others, and in this rainy season hilsa are being caught in shoals in the state. For the last few years hilsa have been scarce in West Bengal at this time, but this year good days seem to have returned. Fishermen at Digha have netted about seven tonnes of hilsa in a few days.

Since the hilsa season began this year, fishermen were barred from the sea several times because of deep depression warnings. On top of that, the authorities recently banned fishing for six days, in two spells, for air force exercises off the coast. When the Digha fishermen went out to the deep sea after this long break, hilsa began to be caught in shoals.

A fisherman named Sanjay Barman said seven tonnes of hilsa had been landed at Digha in the last three or four days, and more trawlers are on their way back with hilsa. With demand in the wholesale market, good prices are expected this year.

In the retail markets of Kolkata and the surrounding towns, hilsa of 400-450 grams are selling at 550 rupees a kg, 500-600 gram fish at 800-850 rupees, and 700-800 gram fish at 1,000 rupees a kg. Hilsa of one kg or more are selling for 1,300 to 1,500 rupees. Prices vary somewhat from place to place.

A few days ago, India's finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a five per cent tax concession on marine fish in the Union budget. With tonnes of hilsa now being caught at the Digha estuary after that announcement, the fishermen's joy knows no bounds. Food-loving Bengalis also hope hilsa will reach their plates a little more easily this year.

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