Market ManagementAfter diesel went up by Tk 20 a litre, several vegetables in Dhaka's markets rose by Tk 5-20 a kilogram and fish by Tk 20-50, while one- and two-litre bottles of soybean oil grew hard to find.
FisheriesLate-season hilsa landings have lowered prices in Chandpur, but Department of Fisheries figures show two straight years of falling production, a 22 percent drop in the sea catch, and smaller fish with far fewer carrying eggs.
With signal No. 3 hoisted for a low-pressure system in the Bay of Bengal, hundreds of trawlers from across the coast have taken shelter at the Alipur and Mahipur fish landing centres in Patuakhali, and fishermen back from the 65-day ban are losing money ashore.
A trawler skippered by Abdur Rahim of Hatiya, Noakhali, returned to Chairman Ghat with about 60 maunds of hilsa after six days in the Bay of Bengal; the catch sold for about Tk 20 lakh in three rounds of auction at Saiful fish depot.
A trawler from Hatiya in Noakhali returned from six days in the Bay of Bengal with about 60 maunds of hilsa, auctioned in three rounds for nearly Tk 20 lakh at Chairman Ghat.
A hilsa weighing 2 kg 750 g was sold for Tk 13,250 at Motirhat fish ghat in Kamalnagar, Laxmipur, to a Dhaka fish trader.
A 2.75 kg hilsa landed by fisherman Faruk Majhi sold for Tk 13,250 at Motirhat fish ghat in Kamalnagar, Lakshmipur, to Dhaka trader Bahar Mia; depot owners say hilsa have become scarce in the river and dearer fuel has made fishing harder.
Eighteen fishermen stranded on a disabled trawler near Sonarchar in Rangabali, Patuakhali, were rescued unhurt on Thursday morning by a trawler their relatives sent.
One Cox's Bazar factory exported 70 tonnes of dried popa fish, produced at a cost of Tk 6 crore, to the US, Hong Kong and China last year; smaller catches are cutting this year's shipments.
EnvironmentA new global assessment finds about 20% of land and 10% of the ocean protected, short of the 30x30 goal agreed in Montreal, and a study suggests only a quarter of marine protected areas deliver real conservation.
The national hilsa task force decided that the Mother Hilsa Conservation Drive 2026 will run from 8 to 29 October, with catching, transporting, storing and selling hilsa banned across the country.
Falling catches, dearer fuel, repeated fishing bans and loans from NGOs and moneylenders are driving many fishermen in Charfasson and Monpura, Bhola, to look for other work.
A three-kilogram hilsa caught in the Meghna by fisherman Zahed Majhi was sold at an open auction at Hatiya's Chairman Ghat for Tk 10,900, to local trader Bishu Bepari.
