Sweet water fishes depleting in Mymensingh haors

It is all quiet in Tanguar Haor in Khalijuri upazila in Netrakona district. A fisher man waiting after casting his net in water. PHOTO: STAR

Fish traders used to flock to the areas from different regions of the country for indigenous sweetwater fishes, acclaimed for their taste, quality and size. These fishes from haor areas were in great demand.

But a few fishermen are seen during the peak fishing period in haors now.

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They are frustrated as different species of sweet water fishes are depleting from the vast waterbodies.

Madan, Mohongonj and Khaliajuri upazilas in Netrakona district; Itna, Nikli and Karimgonj in Kishoregonj are mainly haor (lake) areas in greater Mymensingh. These were once famous for indigenous sweet water fishes like Kai, Magur, Shing, Pabda, Bacha, Ruhi, Katal, Baush, Aire, Baghair, Chitol, Khalisha, Tangra, Shol, Gojar. These fishes used to meet demands of other districts.

Fish netting starts as the water recedes with the advent of winter. But catches are very small now, said some fishermen talking to this correspondent during a visit to some haor areas.

The waterbodies are almost deplete of fishes, they said.

Talking to this correspondent, Kishoregonj District Fishery Officer Mohammad Amirullah and Netrakona District Fishery Officer AKM Nurul Amin said in 1984-85, production of sweetwater fishes in the haor area was two lakh fifty thousand tonnes. The production would be around 82,000 tonnes this year.

Use of pesticides in crops, netting of fish fries with current net, deposit of silt in the waterbodies and obstruction in the natural flow of water following construction of roads are the main reasons for decrease in production, they said. Mother fishes are caught indiscriminately during July-October the breeding season, Mohammad Kauser Hossen, Technical Officer at Kishoregonj Fishery Office said.

Amirul Islam, a farmer at Noljuri village in Mohangonj upazila said most of the waterbodies dry up in winter, when local people catch all the fishes inlcuding the mother fishes. So no mother fish is left for breeding.

Gangacharan Barmon, a fishermen at Paboy village in Mohongonj upazila said about 20 years ago, he and his brother Nogendra Chandra Barmon could catch 100 to 150 maunds of fish every year with 'Khara Jal' (one kind of fishing net). But now hardly 20 maunds can be netted in a year

Kanchon Mia, a fish trader at Mohongonj Bazar said earlier, he could supply 100 to 150 maunds to Dhaka every day during November-March. It has come doen to 25-30 maunds now.

Dry fished produced in the area are famous in the county. But the quantity has plummeted in recent years, they said.

The fishery officials said they will create some fish sanctuaries in the haor areas and take up some other programmes to increase natural production of sweetwater fishes.