Big hilsa catches still elude fishermen

Traders in southern region worried as fishing season running out

17 August 2009, 17:00 PM

Our Correspondent, Barisal

The fish trading centre on Port Road in Barisal city remains almost empty as the ongoing hilsa season sees scanty catches of the popular fish in the southern region.Photo: STAR

Several weeks into the hilsa season, fishermen in the southern region are yet to start getting good catches of the popular fish. Barisal wholesale fish market sees scanty supply of the fish, much to the worry of fishermen, traders and ice factory owners. Small amounts of 'luckily netted' hilsas are sold at exorbitant prices at the sales centre of Bangladesh Fish Development Corporation in Barisal (BFDC). Depending on sizes, a maund of hilsa sold at Tk 12,000-24,000 yesterday. The centre sees only 20 to 30 maunds of hilsa a day while 300-400 maunds of hilsa were brought there daily during this period last year. A number of traders, who took loan from fish merchants on interest and gave money to fishermen in advance, are passing hard days amid worry about repaying the loans taken from aratdars (fish wholesalers). Ajit Das Monu, president of Bangladesh Fish Exporters' Association, Barisal said 20 firms in West Bengal imported hilsa worth Tk 250 crore from Bangladesh last year but the country is now losing hilsa market to Myanmar and Thailand. Local exporter Zikrullah Traders exported only 940 kg hilsa to India from this port at the government fixed rate of US $ 6 per kg on June 29 this year, said Belayet Hossain, assistant marketing officer of BFDC in Barisal. There are 50 wholesalers, over 150 hilsha traders and 20 exporters in Barisal fish market, Md Yusuf Ali, general secretary of Barisal District Wholesalers Association, said. To run their business, most of the traders take loans from different fish merchants on interest and give the money to fishermen in advance, he said, adding, they are passing worrying days because of poor catches. Besides coastal areas, hilsa caught from Meghna, Arial Khan, Kalabadar, Kirtonkhola, Pacha, Andharmanik, Tentulia and Paira rivers are brought to Barisal fish market.