Panic has gripped fishers in Pirojpur and Barguna after incidents of piracy rose sharply along the coast of the two districts in the past several weeks.

After killing a fisher, who was from Pathorghata in Barguna, pirates abducted seven fishers on November 20.

Jahangir Hossain, from Telekhali village in Pirojpur's Bhandaria upazila, was one of the abductees. The pirates demanded Tk 3 lakh as ransom for the release of each of the abductees, said Jahangir's relatives and fellow crew members.

The pirates released the seven fishers on November 25 after relatives of the victims paid ransom as demanded by the pirates. All the abductees said the pirates subjected them to extreme physical torture before releasing them.  

"We had been catching fish in the Bay of Bengal without any fear over the last four to five years. But now we are living in anxiety, as we don't have anyone to get us released in case we are kidnapped by the pirates," said Mizanur Rahman Sardar, from Bagerhat's Sharankhola upazila, who was selling fish at Badura fishing dock in Pirojpur Sadar upazila.

All fishers in the region are now passing days in fear of getting killed or abducted by pirates while at sea, he added. 

Another fisher, Abdul Hye, from Mahipur in Patuakhali, said the poor fishers cannot afford to pay Tk 2 to 3 lakh ransom to the pirates. "But if kidnapped or killed by the pirates, a fisher hardly gets any support from the owner of his fishing boat."

Hearing about the rise in piracy at the Bay, many fishers are no longer willing to go on fishing voyages to the sea, said fisher Farid Mridha, from Balipara village in Pirojpur's Indurkani upazila.

A kidnapped fisher usually ends up getting killed by the pirates, unless his family members are able pay the ransom, he added. 

The rise in piracy came at a time when the fishers in the country had been grappling with poor catches over the past couple of years, thanks to back-to-back fishing bans in the Bay, said Nazrul Islam, from Barguna's Taltali upazila. "Now I am not certain whether I should ever return to the sea." 

Unless the pirates in the Bay are brought to book immediately, there will be an increased threat on lives of the fishers, said Kamal Das, president of Pirojpur district unit of fishing trawler owners' association.

Despite repeated attempts, this correspondent was unable to reach any official concerned at Bangladesh Coast Guard.