Dried fish production declines in Chalan Beel area

BOGURA, Nov 30: Dried fish production in greater Chalan Beel is being seriously hampered this season due to a drastic fall in fish supply caused by indiscriminate netting of mother fishes during the breeding period.

Industry insiders apprehend that dried fish production in the wetland may fall short of target this year.

It is to be mentioned that greater Chalan Beel, extending over vast tracts of Pabna, Sirajganj and Natore districts, is widely known as a big sphere of fish resources in the country.

A large amount of sweet or fresh water fishes are supplied to different parts of the country, including Dhaka, from Chalan Beel.

It is also renowned as greater grain storage of the country.

Dried fish produced in Chalan Beel is also exported to different countries after meeting the domestic demand that keeps greater contribution to the national economy, sources said.

Sources at the Department of Fisheries informed that various species of native fishes are collected from Chalan Beel.

The wetland covers an area of 4,500 hectares with 22 reservoirs and 16 rivers crisscrossing over 120 square kilometers.

This is also a great source of sweet water fishes in the country.

A large segment of the population in the region earn their living by fishing in the Beel for a special period from August to February of the year.

During the dry season, most residents of the area including women are engaged in processing dried fish applying native process at different Chatals (yards) after collecting fish from the local markets, including Mohisluti Bazar in Tarashupazila of Sirajganj district, Boalmari Bazar in Chatmoho rupazila in Pabna district and Singra Bazar in Natore district.

Various species of native fish including rui, katla, mrigal carp,shol, boal, khoilsa, taki, tengra, puti, koi, shing, magur, rupchanda, dankona, rayna, bele, swarputi, small prawn, bain, chapila, chelaputi and chanda are processed into dried fish.

Later those are supplied to different districts including Dhaka, Bogura, Syedpur, Nilphamari, Joypurhat, Rajshahi, Rangpur and Natore.

After meeting the local demand, dried fish are also exported to around 25 countries of the world including India, Libya, Malaysia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Iraq, USA, Oman, Kuwait and Indonesia.

During a spot visit to Chalan Beel area, this correspondent found that dried fish were being produced at different Chatals in a small scale.

While talking, most dried fish producers said prices of fish have doubled in the local markets due to waning production in the Beel.

Fish stock has declined remarkably in the Beel due to various reasons including indiscriminate fishing during the breeding season.

Now the dried fish producers' business is witnessing a downtrend for the unavailability of raw fish.

If some fishes are found in local markets, traders face problem for their high prices.

As a result, dried fish producers have reduced their production compared to the previous years.

Suraj Mian, 45, owner of a dried fish Chatal and trader of Mohisluti Bazar, said, "Fishermen are not getting expected amount of fish from Chalan Beel this time due to a negative impact of less rainfall in the monsoon."

"Consequently, the fish price has gone up compared to the previous year. Many dried fish producers are compelled to return home from Bazar with empty handed due to high prices of fish. They can't process dried fish in their Chatal," he added.

Roman Hawlader, a fisherman of Chalan Beel, said, "Many Chatal owners are idling away for want of work. They can't procure fish from local markets or even from fishermen. They are in fear of incurring losses this year."

Kohinur Begum, 40, and Ramicha Khatun, 35, who work in a Chatal, said, "We work in the Chatal for four to five months each year. We get Tk200 to Tk 300 per head daily. But now, we are passing days without work due to short supply of fish."

Shahinur Rahman, DFO in Sirajganj, said, "About 302 tonnes of dried fishes were produced in Sirajganj last year. But this year we couldn't fix any production target so far due to less supply of fish in the markets."

"Besides, many producers now show reluctance to produce dried fish for want of a preservation centre in the region. If there were preservation centers here, fishermen or dried fish producers would be able to protect their fish from damage," he added.

"We, however, provide training to the people concerned on how to produce dried fish in a safe and hygienic way. We are also advising them not to use toxic DDT powder with dried fish for the sake of consumers' health," he added.

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