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Fishermen find fish hardly in Jamuna

Published : Saturday, 2 December, 2017 at 12:00 AM  Count : 355
Ashok Benarjee
SIRAJGANJ, Dec 1: Bijoy Halder, a fisherman of Natuar Para in Kazipur Upazila, went to catch fish; He prepared the boat with two-day food and other related materials; but, despite his attempts for two days, he could not catch any fish from the Jamuna River.
The fishermen here have no other option except catching fish. They earn livelihood by catching fish. But sufficient fish is not available in the river. Thousands of fishermen, whose only profession is fishing, are passing miserable days with their families.
According to field sources, there is fish scarcity in the Jamuna; so the fishermen are bound to return home with empty hands. Besides, they are worried of repaying the loan taken  from moneylenders.
Locals said the fishermen catch fish from the river round the year. After rainy season, the water level of the river goes down when different fishes including shol, boal, baim, tengra, ritha, puthi, bele, rui, katla, kalibaush, pabda and bash patari are caught in fishermen's nets.
Once upon a time, adequate quantity of fish were found in different water bodies at Meghai, Dhekuria, Shubhogachha, Natuarpara, Tekani, Khashrajbari, Shamgram, Raghunathpur, Majnabari, Chargirish, Nishchintopur, Omarpur, Khash Kaulia and Baghutia unions of Chowhali Upazila and Koijuri Union of Shahzadpur Upazila. But the quantity of the fish has  been reduced. The fishermen said the quantity of fish is very low this year.
The concerned sources alleged that due to negligence of the Fisheries Department, fish and their fry are being caught using banned current nets and applying harmful tablets in the river water which have been hampering the natural breeding of fish. So, the fishes in the river are on the verge of extinction.
Besides these, change in climate and rivers' courses and filling-up of rivers are behind the fish scarcity in the rivers.
Bimal Chandra Hawlader of Kazipur Upazila said, "Most of the fishermen in Kazipur, Chouhali and Belkuchi upazilas here earn their livelihood by catching fish from the Jamuna. The fishermen have to sit idle following the ban on April and May on netting jatka and small fishes. Many of them take loan on high interest. They hope that they will repay the loan by selling fish, but most of the time, they have to repay the loan by selling their belongings."  
Fish trader Kashem Bepari said the fish of the Jamuna River has popularity for its taste across the country. Once, plenty of hilsa was found in the river along with the fishes of other varieties. But nowadays it is very rare. At the same time the price of fish is skyrocketing.
He alleged that the use of current nets, catching jatka and lack of administrative monitoring, the fish resource is on the verge of extinction.
District Fisheries Department said there are 23,995 fishermen in the district. Their main occupation is fishing. Half of the fishermen have been earning their livelihood by catching fish. But now they are passing tough time as fish is not available like previous time.
District Relief and Rehabilitation Officer Mohammad Abdur Rahim said each of 500 fishermen got 20 kg of rice when the government imposed ban on netting fish.
Sirajganj Government College Science Professor SM Monowar Hossain said, "The number of fisherman families has increased in the last 25 years. They are catching fish anytime. So the safe breeding place of fish has decreased. The wastage of mills and factories are polluting river water which is the hindrance of normal and safe fish breeding. The concerned authorities should monitor in this connection."
District Fisheries Officer Mohammad Manirul Islam said though the source of natural fish production fell slightly, the cultivated fish production has increased.
The demand of fish in the district is 56,729 metric tons while the production is 58, 654 metric tons. So the production is 1,925 metric tons more than the demand.






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