AgribusinessThe hilsa season had begun in June 2026, yet little hilsa reached Barishal's Port Road wholesale fish landing centre: on 2 June about 60 maunds arrived where some 1,000 were expected, and prices were high.
The state minister for fisheries and livestock has ordered an end to the production of fishing nets that harm hilsa breeding and conservation.
Poor hilsa catches in Bhola's Meghna and Tetulia rivers and strong demand from wholesale markets elsewhere have pushed local prices up, angering ordinary buyers.
Hilsa prices at Chandpur's Borostation fish ghat, one of the country's largest hilsa markets, have fallen by Tk 300 to 500 a kg in about a month.
The government's 58-day ban on fishing in the coastal sea off Patuakhali ends at midnight on 11 June, and more than half a lakh fish workers in Kalapara upazila are making final preparations to return to the deep sea.
AgribusinessAbout 60 maunds of hilsa reached Barishal's Port Road wholesale market on 2 June 2026, against a thousand expected at that time, and one-kilogram fish sold for Tk 2,500 to 3,000 a kg. Traders blamed short supply; some buyers alleged a syndicate.
AgribusinessOn 29 May 2026, the day after Eid ul-Adha, Jatrabari's depots in Dhaka had few buyers and no new consignments; one-kg hilsa fell to Tk 1,600-1,800 from Tk 2,200-2,300 and cucumber dropped Tk 40 a kg to Tk 50-60.
FisheriesThe Bangladesh Navy said on 14 May 2026 that 716 drives under the Jatka Protection Programme-2026 had seized about 3.44 crore metres of illegal nets, valued by ISPR at an estimated Tk 517.44 crore, in nine coastal districts.
The Coast Guard seized about 10,140 kg of hilsa and other sea fish from three trucks in Bhola during the 58-day ban on fishing at sea.
FisheriesIn May 2026, fishers in Bhola were finding almost no hilsa in the Meghna and Tetulia rivers after the two-month ban ended, and prices in the town's markets rose sharply. The district fisheries officer and a BFRI hilsa researcher put the shortage down to climate change.
AgribusinessA week after the March-April river fishing ban ended, hilsa supply at Chandpur's Boro Station landing had not recovered on 8 May 2026; traders said a one-kilogram fish sold for Tk 3,800 to Tk 4,000, and many holiday buyers left empty-handed.
Fishermen in Bhola returned to the Meghna and Tentulia after a two-month government ban and came back to shore happy with catches of hilsa and other fish.
Fishermen in Chandpur went back to the Padma and Meghna after a two-month ban, but the first night's hilsa catch fell short of hopes even as trade returned to the Boro Station landing.
