Hilsa had not been found in the Bay of Bengal and the rivers of the Sundarbans in the usual numbers. After that, an 11-day government ban was imposed to protect the hilsa's breeding environment and conserve mother hilsa. Since the ban was lifted, fishermen's trawlers from different parts of the Sundarbans and from Digha have set out into the Bay of Bengal.

Several of these trawlers have returned to Namkhana, Raidighi, Patharpratima, Fraserganj, Kakdwip and Digha, and fishermen's nets have been found to contain somewhat larger hilsa.

Even so, big hilsa have not yet reached retail markets. Because the fish being caught are somewhat larger, fishermen believe there are more hilsa in the Bay of Bengal.

The hilsa being caught weigh about one kilogram or a little less. In retail markets, 1kg hilsa are selling for Rs 1,200 to Rs 1,300, while slightly smaller fish of 800 to 900 grams are selling for Rs 1,000.

Lakshman Pal, a retail fish seller at the Ushumpur Bottola fish market in a town near Kolkata, said hilsa were suddenly available again since the ban was lifted, though prices were a little high. "We hope more hilsa will come and prices will fall a lot," he said.

Alok Haldar, president of a fishermen's organisation, said that since hilsa are being caught, all the trawlers have already prepared to go out into the Bay of Bengal. In his view, no hilsa were caught during the long 11-day ban, which is why they are now turning up in nets. As winter sets in, fewer hilsa will gradually be caught, so they will try their utmost to send as many trawlers as possible to bring in hilsa.

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