Hilsa shortage leaves Chandpur fish markets quiet during peak season

Hilsa supplies have fallen sharply in Chandpur’s fish markets despite the peak fishing season, leaving the city’s fish landing stations and wholesale markets unusually quiet.

Fishermen in the Padma and Meghna rivers are failing to catch hilsa in expected quantities. As a result, many are struggling to recover even their fishing expenses, while reduced supply has pushed up prices and discouraged buyers.

At the city’s Bara Station fish landing area, traders said hilsa supplies are significantly lower than in previous years. Currently, only around 150 maunds of hilsa arrive at the market each day.

A 1.5kg hilsa is selling for around Tk 3,500 per kg, while 1.2kg fish are priced at Tk 3,000, 1kg fish at Tk 2,700, 800�"900g fish at Tk 2,500 and 500�"700g fish at Tk 1,800 per kg.

The situation is a stark contrast to previous years, when the market received 3,000�"3,500 maunds of hilsa a day during the peak season. The fish not only met local demand but was also supplied to different parts of the country and abroad.

Buyer Shafik said he came to the fish landing station hoping to buy hilsa but could afford only one kilogram because of the high price.

Another buyer, Monir Hossain, said he was disappointed by both the shortage and the high prices.

Fisherman Karim Mia, from the Harina ferry terminal area, said he spent the entire night fishing but caught so little that he could not recover his expenses.

“We went into the river with high hopes of catching hilsa, but now we are disappointed. If the situation continues, it will become difficult to support our families,” he said.

Wholesale trader Nur Alam said the current supply is extremely low compared with previous years. “Not even one-fiftieth of the hilsa that used to arrive here is coming now,” he said.

Hilsa seller Nabi Hossain said traders usually try to recover their annual losses during the three-month hilsa season. They also provide fishermen with large advances to support their fishing operations.

“But with such low supplies during the peak season, we are facing losses. The sales revenue is barely enough to pay employees’ wages and shop rent,” he said, adding that high prices have also reduced the number of buyers.

Nabi called for stronger protection of jatka, or juvenile hilsa, and an end to sand extraction from rivers to increase hilsa production.

Another wholesaler, Samrat Bepari, said the shortage has also affected employment at the fish landing station, as workers are finding little work and are moving to other professions.

He urged the authorities to shut down factories producing illegal fishing nets, including current nets and mosquito nets, and to take action against trawlers that catch juvenile hilsa at sea.

Haji Shabebarat Sarker, general secretary of the Chandpur Fish Traders’ Association, said hilsa supplies at the market have been declining steadily.

“If the government does not take immediate steps, hilsa trading in Chandpur could eventually come to a halt,” he said, adding that traders involved in the hilsa supply chain are increasingly frustrated.

Chandpur Sadar Upazila Senior Fisheries Officer Mirza Omar Faruk attributed part of the decline to reduced navigability and weaker currents in the rivers.

He said submerged shoals in the Padma and Meghna have been identified and a proposal has been sent to the ministry for their removal to restore navigability.

He added that regular drives are being conducted to protect juvenile and mother hilsa, while mobile courts are also taking action against illegal fishing nets.

SKS