The government has given fish feed producers two months to follow its production guideline, after which mills will be visited and products tested, Fisheries and Livestock Minister Mohammad Aminur Rashid said.
National Fisheries Fortnight 2026 will be observed across the country from 16 to 30 August, and 14 contributors to the fisheries sector will receive gold medals.
While Bangladesh's fish output and exports grow, fishers and scientists say hilsa production is falling and the average fish is getting smaller.
With wild fish stocks shrinking, fish and shrimp farming is proving more profitable than crop farming for Bangladeshi farmers, and the country ranks fifth in the world in aquaculture.
When hilsa is scarce, some dishonest traders sell sardines or chandana fish as hilsa, but a few checks at the market can reveal the difference.
A fishing trawler in the Bay of Bengal off Kalapara, Patuakhali, caught 46 maunds of hilsa in one haul, selling the fish at auction for Tk 48.5 lakh.
Hilsa roe is selling for Tk 5,500 to Tk 6,000 a kg at Chandpur's Boro Station fish landing, nearly double last year's price, because few roe-bearing fish are being caught.
Hilsa and other fish are scarce in Pirojpur markets even at the height of the season, pushing prices beyond the reach of ordinary buyers.
The Department of Fisheries says June's hilsa catch in the Barishal division was the highest in six years, but traders, fishers and buyers see scarce supply and record prices.
Huge baited bamboo traps known as chai are catching vast numbers of pangas fry in the rivers and estuaries of southern Bangladesh, threatening the fish's breeding cycle.
AgribusinessOn 19 July 2026 traders at Barishal's Port Road landing centre said only 100 to 150 maunds of hilsa were arriving a day, against an expected thousand, and fish of about one kilogram sold for Tk 2,800 to Tk 3,000, sending many buyers to pangas.
CookingRaw hilsa pieces are rubbed with onion, turmeric, chilli, cumin and mustard oil, then cooked covered on gentle heat. Jagonews24 published the recipe in July 2026, at the height of the monsoon.
Floods in five districts of the Chattogram region caused fisheries and livestock losses of about Tk 275 crore, the minister said, announcing seed, vaccination and fodder support.
