Hilsa floods Barishal market as 22-day ban ends
Hilsa flooded wholesale fish market in Barishal city yesterday following end of the 22-day ban on netting the popular fish.
The fisheries department imposed the restriction from October 9 to 30 to ensure safe spawning and protection of mother hilsa, said Bimal Chandra Das, Barisal district fisheries officer (hilsa).
Azizul Haque, deputy director of Barisal divisional fisheries department, claimed that the ban on netting, sale and transport of hilsa was observed successfully across the division.
Visiting the wholesale market at Port Road yesterday, this correspondent saw huge quantities of hilsa, weighing 600 grams to around one kg, there.
Depending on sizes, the fish is selling for Tk 500 to Tk 800 each while the prices ranged between Tk 800 and Tk 1100 one month ago, sellers said.
Around 5,000 maunds (a maund = 40 kg) of hilsa on a hundred trawlers has already landed near Port Road wholesale market and fishermen and wholesalers have started sending the fish with trucks and covered vans, said Nirob Hossain Tutul, secretary of Barishal Matsya Arotdar Samity (fish wholesalers association).
Ajit Kumar Das Manu, president of the association, said most of the hilsa netted from the coastal rivers are big sized ones.
“We came to Port Road hilsa wholesale market with five hundred maunds of big sized hilsa on a trawler,” said Kabir Majhi, a fisherman from Bhola.
“We faced hardship during the ban but now we are happy to get good catches of hilsa last night,” said Sumon Gazi, a fisherman from Mehendiganj.
Availability of large sized hilsa shows that the ban has yielded good result, said Abu Sayed, district fisheries officer, Barishal.
“During October 9 to 30, fisheries department in Barishal division conducted 2,538 drives by mobile courts, awarded short term jail to 1,447 people and imposed a total of Tk 44.56 lakh fine for violating the ban. Officials seized 19.03 tonnes of hilsa and 89.69 lakh metres of nets during the time,” he said.
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