Fear of loan sharks haunts fishermen

Fishermen in the chars of the Sundarbans region anticipate insufficient catch this year as many have not returned to the trade following the devastation of cyclone Sidr.
They fear this will ultimately leave them unable to pay their loans taken from local fish traders on high interest.
Cyclone Sidr washed away almost everything, including houses, nets, boats and other necessary belongings, of these fishermen on nine islands. But they are beginning life afresh, building houses and repairing boats and nets.
Talking to The Daily Star, fishermen and fish traders demanded that the government build permanent houses for the fishermen and at least 50 cyclone shelters on the islands. They also emphasised the need for early signalling technology for natural calamities like cyclones.
Around 30,000 fishermen from different districts, who live in these chars for their trade, now want the interests against their loans from different NGOs to be written off.
Many fishermen told The Daily Star that it will be very tough for them to pay their loans with the interests this year.
Abdur Razzak Gazi, 60, took Tk 30,000 loan from a local trader in Khulna on condition that he will pay Tk 15,000 interest after the five-month fishing season from October to March. Razzak is now worried about how he will pay the loan and the interest as he lost a large amount of fish in the cyclone.
But Razzak, like many others, is hopeful about catching more fish and overcoming the loss.
At least 90 percent fishermen come to these islands for fishing with money loaned from traders.
Fish traders in these chars, however, anticipated that they will face a loss of Tk 35-50 crore this year as Sidr washed away fish worth several crore taka.
Several thousand fishermen have still remained missing since the cyclone hit the coastal regions while many have not come for fishing after witnessing the devastation of Sidr, they said.
There are 200-250 holdings on these chars that control the fishing business and each holding has suffered a loss of Tk 10-20 lakh.
Maj (retd) Ziauddin Ahmed, one of the rich fish traders in Char Meher Ali, told The Daily Star that it will be very tough for them to overcome the loss as fewer fishermen will ultimately net a small amount of fish.