Bagerhat fishermen happy as hilsa abundant in winter
Unlike other years, Bagerhat KB Bazar is flooded with different sizes of hilsa during the ongoing winter, much to the delight of fishermen and traders.
Buyers are also happy as the prices are not high.
Visiting the famous fish trading centre yesterday, this correspondent found fishermen taking large quantities of hilsa from trawlers to the wholesalers while the market area is crowded with traders and buyers.
“Hilsa is generally less available in winter. But this time we are getting a lot of the fish, which often comes near the coast from deep sea areas,” said trawler owner Akkas Ali.
“I cannot recall getting such good quantities of hilsa during the winter in last ten years,” he said.
The price is also within the reach of common people.
A hilsa weighing 600 gram is selling for around Tk 400 while a one-kg fish for Tk 500 to Tk 550.
“The prices are much lower than the usual hilsa season. Some of the fish are bearing eggs,” said Rafikul Islam, a buyer.
Meanwhile, several other varieties of fishes, which are usually found aplenty during the winter season in other years, are less available this season, said local fishermen.
Expressing surprise, they termed the matter as a whim of nature.
Abed Ali, president of the Bagerhat KB Bazar Fisheries Association, said they have started sending hilsa to different places in other districts as netting of the fish is high this winter.
Bagerhat District Fisheries Officer Dr Khaled Kanak said the government’s various initiatives, including prohibition of hilsa netting during the breeding season, have led to increase of the fish production in the sea.
The popular fish will grow even better if sufficient awareness programmes are conducted for the stakeholders, he said.
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