Mother fish release sample eggs in Halda
Mother fish in Halda River have released sample eggs starting Wednesday night.
Egg collectors got a little amount of eggs around 11.30pm Wednesday at several points of the river in Hathazari area.
Ashu Barua, a seasonal egg collector, told The Daily Star that "We got around 150-200 gm of eggs. We are hoping to see full spawning Friday."
"These sample eggs are laid by brood fish in preparation for a full spawning. We hope the spawning is expected by Friday," Farhana Lovely, a fisheries officer in Chattogram, told The Daily Star.
Meanwhile, hundreds of fish egg collectors around Halda river, the major natural carp breeding ground in Bangladesh, are eagerly waiting to see full spawning.
According to the district fisheries office, there are 151 wells in four hatcheries on the bank of the Halda. But egg collectors of the area have claimed that at least 400 wells are needed.
According to the data of Halda River Research Laboratory (HRRL), the river is the source of eggs worth about Tk 800 crore every year.
Egg collection has become the primary earning activity for a large population along the bank of Halda, driving them towards self-reliance.
Researchers said the brood fish usually release eggs in the last week of April or at the beginning of May every year.
But in this session the mother fish have released their eggs late as the weather is not favorable this year.
Halda is the sole natural spawning ground for carp-like fish in South Asia, and the fish have laid eggs in various points of the river.
Shahidul Islam, upazila nirbahi officer (UNO) of Hathazari upazila told The Daily Star that "We already increased scrutiny as poachers become active during spawning sessions to catch mother fish."
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