Chandpur, one of the biggest trading hubs of fish, is abuzz with sales. Wholesalers are happy due to the hilsa season. Local fishermen? Not so much.

The fishermen complain that the nearby estuary of Padma and Meghna rivers of Bangladesh is bereft of hilsa, the gourmet fish loved by Bengalis.  

All the fish seen at the trading hub is captured at different points of the deep sea, not at the Padma-Meghna estuary.

“There is hardly any hilsa left in the rivers of Padma and Meghna,” said Shabe Barat, general secretary of Chandpur Matsya Banik Samity, an association of fish traders.
He holds out hope that more Hilsa would be caught in the estuary soon again.

Hilsa fishing at the sea resumed after a 65-day ban, but hardly any fish was caught in the nets of the local fishermen.

Increased siltation in the rivers has reduced the yield of Hilsa, said Abdul Gafur, a fish trader. Some Hilsas are caught when the rivers have a better water flow at the end of the season, he said.

“Hilsa is found in the rivers in Chandpur during winter, but those are the very small ones called Jatka,” said Gafur Jamadar.

Hilsas from the coast and from the rivers have a big difference in prices. A Hilsa from the sea weighing one kg is sold for Tk 700-800 per kg, while the one from Chandpur rivers is sold for Tk 1,000 to Tk 1,100 per kg during the season.

Before the Eid, a maund (37.32 kg) of Hilsa with each fish weighing up to 700 grams was sold for Tk 25,000, while the same quantity from Chandpur rivers was sold for Tk 38,000.

Many customers from across the country visiting the market to buy ‘Chandpur hilsa’ at a lower price are returning home empty-handed -- dejected.
“Those Hilsas weighing a kg that I used to buy for Tk 800-900 are now sold for Tk 1,000-1,200,” said Emdadul Hasan, a local resident.

“It is expensive but the hilsa from the river Padma tastes much better than those from the sea. But I failed to get some,” said Mustafa Amir who travelled all the way to Chandpur from Dhaka.

The Harina pier, another busy place for fish, is situated 6km away from central Chandpur where local fishermen sell their catch.

In the past years, they were seen coming with trawlers filled with hilsas. This year, scenes are dismal: their empty trawlers are seen stranded at the pier.

Hossain Ali came back from the river with only six medium-sized hilsas, a few days prior to the Eid day.

“They catch a lot of fish in the sea while we don’t get any in the rivers. Fishermen are losing the bread and going through extreme trouble,” said Hossain, a fisherman frustrated by the dwindling catch. “Due to the strong current, all fish go downstream and therefore, more fish are caught in Barishal and Bhola. We’ll get a bigger quantity when the current is settled and water flow becomes normal,” he said.

Small trucks loaded with hilsa from Hatiya, Swandip, Charfashon and other coastal areas were found at the pier.

“Nobody listens to our plight. I had set a fishing net in the river but it was torn as a ship sailed over it. Now I can’t even realise the cost of my net and boat by selling such a small quantity of fish,” said Khalil Mia, another fisherman.

Anisur Rahman, scientific officer at the Chandpur Matsya Gobeshona Kendra, explained the reason behind the scarcity of hilsa in Chandpur.

Submerged shoals in the Padma and Meghna rivers make it difficult for hilsa fish to prevail as they reduce navigability, he said.
“Also, the pollution of Buriganga and Shitalakkhya rivers reaches the Padma and the Meghna causing a scarcity of food for the fish. This has caused a reduction of not only hilsa but also other fishes,” Anisur said.

People mistake the period from May to July as the season for hilsa as it rains more at the time, but in reality, September and October constitute the hilsa season, he said. Anisur expects an increase in the hilsa catch in the rivers in the upcoming season. But the quantity will remain less.

https://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2020/08/02/chandpur-is-a-happy-place-for-hilsa-trade.-but-fishermen-lament-shrinking-catch-from-rivers