Hilsa galore at Cox's Bazar fish landing centre, but prices high

COX'S BAZAR, Oct 03: Local fishermen are returning to the district fish landing centre from the Bay of Bengal with trawlers full of hilsa during its peak season.

But, the price of the national fish is still high despite its peak season. Hilsa is being caught in the sea abundantly, but many common people cannot buy it due to its sky-high price.

According to the information from Cox's Bazar Fish Landing Centre, about 698 tonnes of different fishes, including hilsa, were caught last September. Among them, hilsa is 172 tonnes and 285 kg.

It was seen at Cox's Bazar Fisheries Landing Centre on October 1 that more than 100 trawlers were full of fish, including hilsa.

Each trawler has 1,000 to 2,000 hilsa fish. Fishermen were bringing the hilsa from trawlers to the market in small boats.

Most hilsa weight is 700-900 grams. In the market, 500-600 grams of hilsa per kg (wholesale) is sold at Tk 850 per kg. On the other hand, hilsa weighing 700-800 grams was sold at Tk 1,200, hilsa weighing 01kg was sold at Tk 1,800 and large hilsa of 1 kg was sold at Tk 2,000 per kg.

In the morning, FV Khawaja, a trawler fisherman, sold 1,200 hilsa at the fish landing centre and got about Tk 11 lakh.

Nurul Haque, the owner of the trawler, said the trawler with 21 fishermen cast its net 60km away 10 days ago.

In the first two days, very little hilsa was caught. After going further 10-15 kilometres deep and casting the net, 700 hilsa were caught. More hilsa would have been caught if the net had been cast in deeper seas.

Recently, fishermen could not go to the sea to collect fish after unfavorable weather conditions and 65 days of fishing closure. So the Cox's Bazar fish landing centre was noise free for a long time.

For the past one and a half months, fishermen have been throwing nets from the sea to collect fish, ignoring the hostile weather.

But, fishermen are very disappointed as a 22-day ban on hilsa fishing in the sea is coming nearer from October 13.

Hilsa is being sold at a high price at Fisherighat wholesale fish market and fish landing centre in the city.

From there, wholesalers bought thousands of hilsa by trucks and took them to markets in different parts of the country, including Dhaka.

Businessmen say that hilsa is not only entering different cities of the country but also going to India.

Due to the upcoming Durga Puja, hilsa of Bangladesh is going to India on legal or illegal routes.

Fishermen said that the sea is rough due to adverse weather. That is why small boats are not able to reach the depth of 70-90 km of the sea and catch hilsa. As a result, the desired hilsa is not available.

Fisherman Rahman Ali said hilsa is not available in the sea. A few days ago, more hilsa was found. Hilsa has decreased in the sea due to overfishing.

Fisheries experts say that the extraction of hilsa has increased in the district this year compared to last year.

Silver hilsa is being caught in the nets of the fishermen of Moheshkhali, Kutubdia, Sonadia, Teknaf and Saint Martin's islands in the district.

Fish traders say that even though more fish are visible at the fish landing centre, buyers are disappointed with its sky-high price.

They claim that the price of fish is higher than any other time this year. That is why common people cannot buy any good fish.

The owner of the trawler, Wazed Ali, said that the price of Vegetables, oil, pepper, spices, rice etc., among the products needed to send the trawler to the sea, is on the rise.

Besides, fish prices are increasing due to various mismanagement, including smuggling of hilsa.

Although enough hilsa is caught, very few people in Cox's Bazar see hilsa.

He also said that because the price is high, poor people cannot eat hilsa. Hilsa is now a luxury product.

President of Cox's Bazar Fishing Boat Owners Association Nazir Ahmad said the fish price has increased due to an increase in the price of daily commodities.

GM Rabbani, executive officer of Cox's Bazar District Fish Landing Centre, said that hilsa has decreased in the sea. In September, 698 tonnes and 74 kg fish were brought to the landing centre.

He said there is an opportunity to keep all the fish that come to the fish landing center in a clean place. In addition, there is scope for ice and packaging to prevent fish from rotting. With all these benefits, the government gets a small amount of revenue from each trawler.

Meanwhile, in order to ensure the safe breeding of hilsa, a 22-day ban on hilsa extraction, transportation, buying and selling, stocking and exchange has been announced across the country. The ban will begin on October 13 and end on November 03.

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