The Department of Fisheries says that 40,000 shrimp cages were washed away by Cyclone Remal, which passed over Bagerhat, causing losses of over Tk 1 billion to farmers.
They gave assurances that loans will be available on easy terms so that destitute farmers who have lost everything can turn their livelihoods around.
Five days after the storm hit, Bagerhat District Fisheries Officer ASM Rasel said that due to the impact of Remal, the embankments broke and overflowed Bagerhat, causing extensive damage to shrimp farms. Most of the enclosures in the Mongla, Rampal, Morrelganj and Sarankhola Upazilas have been damaged.
The tidal surge washed away 40,000 shrimp cages, Rasel said, adding that 54 percent of the total enclosures in the district had been washed away.
The nine coastal Upazilas of Bagerhat have 74,000 shrimp cages. Seventy percent of people in the district are involved in shrimp farming and earn their livelihoods through the business. Bagerhat also accounts for 40 percent of the total export earnings of the shrimp sector.
After Cyclone Remal hit on May 26, the scenario in Joygachi village in Bemarta Union of the Sadar Upazila changed. The water made every area look the same. It was difficult to tell where the fish enclosures were.
Sohelur Rahman, a shrimp farmer from the village, said, "I have never seen such a tidal surge due to a storm in my 53 years.
This area is very high. For the water to reach here, it has to surge very high. The high embankment overflowed and was breached and the tidal waters rose to the roads, and the houses."
Sohelur has 25 fish pens on 5.48 hectares of land. He raised bagda, golda, and white shrimp. When the embankment was breached, all the shrimp was washed away.
Sohelur said he had lost Tk 5 million.
"How will I bear this loss? I am Tk 2 million in debt to the bank. I don even have the money to release fish again. All in all, I am distressed."
Asking for the governments help, the shrimp farmer said, "Thousands of shrimp farmers like me are facing such losses."
Alauddin Haider Sumon, a shrimp farmer from the Baharbunia Shanirjor area of Morelganj Upazila, has an enclosure on about 1.24 acres of land. There he cultivated bagda, golda, and white shrimp. The enclosure was swept away by the waters.
"There was shrimp worth nearly Tk 10 million inside. All of them have got out. It is hard to recover such losses. I have been farming fish for a long time. Ive never seen such damage before."
Suman also said that he fears that the losses faced by Bagerhat farmers will affect the income from shrimp exports this year.
However, District Fisheries Officer Rasel disagrees.
He said, "Farmers are being advised so that they can turn their business around by sustainably cultivating fish. Its still early in the season for shrimp farming, they will recover when the farmers release the fry into new enclosures. Hence export earnings will not be affected." —bdnews24.com
