Larger hilsa floods Bagerhat fish market
Much to the delight of fish lovers and buyers alike, a decent sized hilsa fish of around one kilogram is now selling for a little over Tk 600 at KB wholesale fish market in Bagerhat.
The price of an 80-piece lot, locally known as 'pone', of one kg sized hilsa came down to as low as Tk 50 thousand, while a 'pone' of smaller hilsa, weighing between 600 and 800 grams, dropped to Tk 35 thousand at the market.
Located on the bank of the Daratana river, KB market in Bagerhat town is a hotspot for wholesale trading of hilsa as well as of various saltwater fish.
Usually around 6 in the morning, the market is abuzz with hundreds of buyers and sellers, with different sellers positioned at different spots and rhythmically chanting a phrase that somewhat translates to: "Come on over, take one now".
With ample supply of hilsa at the market over the last three or four days, prices remained within the reach of buyers, resulting in a good amount of transactions.
Fishers, meanwhile, had nothing to complain as they have been netting a good number of hilsa during this time and been able to sell the catch for good profits.
"I've got a plenty of hilsa at the sea this time and the size is good too. Even though most of the ones over the size of half a kilogram have eggs in them, I got a good price," said Babul, a fisher, after selling his catch at the market.
Fish trader Akhlas Sheikh said, "This time the size and weight of hilsa are better than before. For two or three days, a hilsa weighing a kg has been selling for Tk 600 to Tk 800 and those weighing between 500 and 600 grams have been selling for Tk 300 to Tk 400 a piece."
Wholesale buyer Bappi said many buyers like him were delighted to be able to buy hilsa at very low prices at the market.
Amid all the hubbub of activities, not a single person, however, was seen at all bothered about wearing any face covering or maintaining social distancing measures -- the health rules recommended to curb the spread of Covid-19.
Explaining the reason behind the good catch of hilsa at the Bay at this time, Khaled Kanak, fisheries officer in Bagerhat, said timely enforcement of fishing ban during the breeding season of hilsa contributed to the growth of hilsa population as well as their size.
In addition, the multiple campaigns they conducted during this period to motivate fishers to refrain from catching or destroying young hilsa, known as 'jatka', also contributed to the increase in the hilsa population at sea and adjoining rivers.
Regarding precautionary health rules being ignored at fish markets, he said, "At meetings with leaders and members of the market association, we explained the significance of health rules for both fishers and fish traders. Despite that, many are still not following the health rules."