Despite being the peak hilsa season, fishermen along the Cox’s Bazar coast are returning from the Bay of Bengal with empty nets, sparking frustration and despair in fishing villages. They blame frequent depressions caused by climate change, low rainfall, and indiscriminate fishing by local and foreign trawlers in the deep sea for the crisis.
A visit to the Cox’s Bazar Fishery Ghat on Wednesday found rows of anchored fishing trawlers. Fishermen said that even though this is traditionally the prime hilsa season, the catch has been disappointing. Instead, they are netting other varieties of marine fish.
Sitting on his trawler, one fisherman lamented, “This is supposed to be the best time for hilsa, but there’s no sign of them anywhere in the sea. In the past three months, I went fishing 10 times and returned with just a small catch. Each trip costs around Tk 400,000, but we barely make Tk 100,000 in return. The debts are piling up—I can’t even go back home peacefully.”
However, a few trawlers returning from deep-sea expeditions did bring in some large hilsa. Traders said the scarce fish are bought for Tk 2,000–2,200 per kg and sent to Dhaka, where they sell for Tk 2,500–3,000 per kg in local markets.
By Mohammad Morshed
Photo: Mohammad Morshed
