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বাংলা E-Paper 📍 Dhaka 📅 Sunday | 15 November 2026, 30 Kartik 1433 PID registration number 06

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St. Martin's fishermen net massive catch of Red Coral fish

Published : Sunday, 15 November, 2026 at 11:26 AM

Observer Online Report

Collected Photo

Eleven fishermen in the Bay of Bengal reaped a massive windfall after hauling in 460 Red Coral fish and 400 Chapa Surma fish in a single net off the coast of St. Martin's Island, later selling the commercial catch for Tk 10 lakh.

The incident occurred on Saturday (November 14) morning when a fishing trawler owned by Mohammad Shafiq, hailing from Shahpori Island in Teknaf, deployed its nets north of St. Martin's Island. According to the trawler's master, Hafez Ullah, the crew set out from the Shahpori Island south pier with 11 crew members on Friday (November 13) night and hauled in the exceptional catch around 6:00AM the following day.

The 460 Red Coral fish weighed approximately 1,200 kg, with individual specimens ranging from 1 to 5 kg, while the 400 Chapa Surma fish weighed around 440 kg, averaging 1 to 1.5 kg each. After setting aside 15 Red Corals and 20 Surmas for the crew's consumption, the remaining 825 fish were brought to the Mistripara fishery ghat on Shahpori Island, where competitive bidding among local traders pushed the final sale price to Tk 10 lakh.

Local fish trader Mohammed Lalu purchased the entire lot, paying Tk 7.8 lakh for the Red Corals and Tk 2.2 lakh for the Surmas. Traders noted that demand for these prized species has surged with the onset of the tourism season, prompting shipments to be dispatched overnight to markets in Cox's Bazar, Dhaka, and Chittagong.

Senior Upazila Fisheries Officer Sujoy Pal explained that Red Corals typically inhabit deep waters and migrate in schools toward the coral and rocky shoals around St. Martin's Island during winter, though the rocky terrain often makes net fishing in these areas exceptionally difficult.

-EM

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Editor : Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury

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