Hilsa fishing booms

Fishermen are now very busy netting hilsa fish in the southern river basin as the 65-day ban on catching and selling the popular fish ended on Saturday midnight.

Fish traders and workers of different fish markets, including Chandpur market, has increased fish business through importing a huge quantity of hilsa fish.

After Saturday midnight, fishermen started to catch the fish in main rivers, including the Padma, the Meghna and the Tentulia.

On Monday morning, over 3,000 maunds of hilsa was reportedly imported from the southern region in one day to fish ghat in Chandpur.

Because of this, the business of fish traders and workers has also increased on fish market here.

However, despite the demand for hilsa from the Padma-Meghna river in Chandpur, the import is comparatively less.

Buyers have to taste hilsa fish with high price.

Traders said that the import of sea hilsa will remain for a few more months. On Monday noon, it was seen that large trawlers from the sea came to the fish ghat.

Hilsa was being picked up from trawlers. More than half a hundred are being piled up in front of the altar. Traders are selling big and small hilsa separately.

Wholesalers and retailers from within the district and from different districts are buying these hilsa.

In addition, hilsa is being sold through communication with hilsa traders from different regions of the country including the capital with fish ghat traders.

Workers are preparing sold hilsa packets and boxes with ice to send on trucks. All the workers involved in hilsa are having a very busy time now.

It has been seen that some traders are selling hilsa wholesale as well as retail.

Local hilsa is more among them because buyers come mostly for hilsa at Chandpur Fish Ghat. Five youths of Dhaka came on Monday to buy hilsa at Chandpur fish ghat.

Shipon and Arifur Rahman Mamun said they got hilsa and without ice. But the price is high.

“I bought one kilogram of hilsa for Tk 1700 and bought 2 kgs of hilsa for Tk 2200.

Mohammad Hossain, another buyer of Chandpur town, said there are many hilsa in fish ghat. But the price is very high.

Many a retail hilsa seller said, “We sell local hilsa.”

“We have hilsa weighing from 1.5 kg to 2 kg. Hilsa above one and a half kg is Tk 1850 per kg. Hilsa weighing 700 to 800 grams is Tk 1400 per kg.”

However, most of the large piles of hilsa in the ghat are from the sea. Over 3,000 maunds of hilsa was imported today, traders said, adding that now is the season of hilsa.

Earlier at this time the import of hilsa from Chandpur was very high. Due to the navigability of the river, unplanned sand extraction by dredgers and pollution in the river, fishermen are now getting very little hilsa.

Fish traders hoped hilsa will be available for another two months as it is the season.