FisheriesTrawlers returning from the Bay of Bengal after the 22-day hilsa ban have brought Chattogram's Fishery Ghat back to life, but many fishers and owners fear the first catches will not cover costs.
FisheriesBureau of Statistics figures show the marine fish catch fell 16.57 per cent in the five years to 2024-25; artisanal boats landed 451,661 tonnes, down from 513,819, while industrial trawlers caught slightly more.
HealthHilsa, pomfret, Bombay duck, sea bass and prawns carry omega-3, protein, iodine and selenium, yet pregnant women, kidney patients and people with allergies or gout need to choose and limit them carefully.
FisheriesA FERN feature follows red drum from Louisiana markets to Texas pond farms and a planned offshore pen, as Gulf shrimpers earn $4 a pound less than 40 years ago after adjusting for inflation.
FisheriesBangladesh Oceanographic Research Institute studies found an average of seven or more microplastic particles in commercial Bay of Bengal fish; fishers say plastic now comes up in every net, and a BRAC survey puts plastic reaching Cox's Bazar's sea at 34.5 tonnes a day.
CookingMarinate half a kilo of loitta in spices for 10-15 minutes, dip in a thick gram-flour and cornflour batter and fry golden over medium heat.
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.
The 2.7-kilogram fish was landed at an arat at the Mahipur fish landing centre in Patuakhali, but went unsold because nobody recognised it.
