COX'S BAZAR, Apr 06: Stunning 101 tonnes of hilsa were caught in a single trawler's net in the Bay of Bengal at once and when the catches were brought to Shahparir Dwip jetty on Sunday afternoon, local traders bought them for about Tk 3.3million right away.
It is learned, the fish were caught in a trawler named 'FB Dwip' owned by Abul Kalam of Jaliapara. Each hilsa weighed from 500 grams to more than one kilogram.
On the spot, it can be seen that a festive atmosphere prevails in the Shahparir Dwip jetty area of Teknaf. Fish are being unloaded in pairs from trawlers returning from the sea, workers are busy sorting the fish and preserving them in ice.
Some are filling them in cockpit boxes, some are loading them into cars, the entire ghat is bustling with activity.
The trawler's skipper, Nurul Islam, said that they went to the sea with 15 fishermen on Friday morning.
Although they did not catch any fish at first, a huge amount of hilsa was caught in one pull on Sunday morning. Later, the fish were sold to local fish trader Faruk for Tk 3.3 million.
He said such a big catch of hilsa has been netted after a long time. This has brought smiles back to the faces of the fishermen.
Abdul Gani, president of the Shahparir Dwip Small Fisheries Association, said that the fishermen were in financial crisis due to the lack of hilsa in the sea for a long time. It will be possible to recover some of the previous losses through the sale of this huge amount of fish.
Hilsa fish are being sent to different districts of the country including Dhaka for relatively better prices.
Shahidul Alam, representative of the Teknaf Upazila Fisheries Office, said that the government imposes a 65-day ban every year to increase reproduction of hilsa. In addition, another 22-day ban is observed in October.
As a result of following this rule, production and size of hilsa have increased. Currently, the fishermen are getting good volumes of fish and are becoming financially self-sufficient.
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