Poor hilsa catch leaves Char Fasson fishers in distress

CHAR FASSON, BHOLA, July 25: The peak hilsa season has brought little relief to fishers in the coastal upazila Char Fasson, where catches in the Meghna and Tentulia rivers remain far below expectations despite the end of the 65-day marine fishing ban.

With drizzles and easterly winds -- conditions traditionally considered favourable for hilsa -- fishers had hoped for a bumper catch after the ban was lifted. Instead, many are returning empty-handed after days on the river, deepening financial hardship for thousands of fishing families.

Although the hilsa season began in Jyaishtha (mid-May to mid-June), catches have remained disappointing through Ashar to Shraban, usually one of the most productive months.

The scarcity has also left riverside fish landing centres unusually quiet, with traders and commission agents reporting a sharp decline in business. Reduced supplies have pushed hilsa prices beyond the reach of many consumers.

Every day, groups of fishing boats leave New Sluice Ghat and Samraj Fish Landing Centre on the banks of the Meghna River, braving rough weather in search of hilsa. However, most return with catches too small to cover operating expenses.

Several fishers said they had spent around Tk 80,000 on a recent three-day fishing trip but earned only Tk 50,000 from fish sales, leaving them with heavy losses.

"There are hardly any fish in the river now," one fisherman said.

Kabir Hossain, Manager of an ice factory at Samraj Fish Landing Centre, said fishers continued to venture into the rivers and the Bay of Bengal every day hoping for large hilsa catches, but most were returning disappointed.

Local fish trader Ahsan Kabir Liton said business had fallen so sharply that daily sales were insufficient even to pay employees' wages.

"We are also worried whether we will be able to recover the advance loans given to fishers by the end of the season," he said.

Char Fasson Senior Fisheries Officer Jayanta Kumar Apu attributed the poor catches to a combination of environmental and ecological factors.

He said newly formed sandbars in the estuary, declining navigability, reduced upstream freshwater flow, below-average rainfall and rising salinity had affected hilsa migration.

Climate change has also altered river courses and disrupted the species' migration routes and spawning grounds, he said.

The fisheries department regularly conducts mobile court drives against illegal trawling and the use of prohibited fishing nets, he said.

According to the Char Fasson Fisheries Office, the upazila has 25,074 registered fishers, while another around 20,000 remain unregistered. Officials said efforts were underway to bring more fishers under the registration system.