Abundance of mother Hilsas in kitchen markets

A 22-day ban on catching and selling Hilsa came to an end on October 29. The step was taken by the government to increase the production of Hilsa fish during the breeding season.
Since that day, fishing as well as sale of Hilsha has been allowed. The supply of Hilsha is phenomenally high in the kitchen and wholesale markets this year. The supply is so high that some fish-sellers, who usually sell various small and medium-sized fishes other than Hilsa, are also selling the otherwise expensive fish now.
Alarmingly, in many kitchen markets of Dhaka, Chattogram and other cities, most Hilsas being sold at low prices are mothers. As these fishes have eggs, they are less delicious than the eggless Hilsas. As a result, their prices are low. Many consumers are questioning the process through which this rare variety of Hilsa has been caught. After a similar ban last year, mostly eggless fishes were sold in the kitchen markets over the next two to three months.
Some Bengali dailies have reported with comments from fish traders that most of these mother Hilsas were caught during the ban. As the law enforcement agencies were keeping their eye on sale of the fish in the kitchen markets during the ban, a section of unscrupulous fish-traders had hid these fishes till the ban was lifted.
This is a bad sign. If the allegations are true and mother Hilsas were caught during the breeding season, then the production of Hilsha will be low. I hope the concerned government departments will investigate into the matter. If the allegations are true, then the law enforcement agencies should find the culprits behind it and give them exemplary punishment, so that this does not recur in the future.
Akibul Javed,
Indira Road, Dhaka