Fishing trawlers are gradually returning to the Cox’s Bazar Fish Landing Centre, Fishery Ghat, after the end of the government-imposed 58-day fishing ban in the Bay of Bengal, bringing with them the season’s first catches of hilsa.
The arrival of the prized silver fish has restored activity at one of the country’s largest fish landing centres, with fishermen, traders, auctioneers and labourers once again crowding the bustling waterfront.
Since Wednesday morning, trawlers arriving at the landing centre have been unloading hilsa along with various other marine fish species.
However, fishermen say that despite encouraging signs of fish availability in the sea following the lifting of the ban, persistent rainfall and rough weather conditions have limited their catches.
Fish trader Abdul Kader said hilsa had started arriving in small quantities over the past few days.
“Supply remains limited, but the appearance of fresh hilsa in the market has already attracted considerable interest from buyers,” he said.
According to him, hilsa is currently selling at wholesale prices ranging from Tk 1,200 to Tk 2,200 per kilogramme, depending on size and quality, while larger fish are fetching even higher prices.
“If weather conditions improve, supplies are expected to increase and the market will become more vibrant,” he added.
Another fish trader, Mohammad Selim, said traders welcomed the return of hilsa after the lengthy fishing restriction.
“Businesspeople are relieved to see hilsa arriving again,” he said. However, prices remain relatively high because the volume of fish landed is still low,” he said.
Returning fisherman Nurul Islam said that although some hilsa had been caught after the ban was lifted, adverse weather conditions made fishing difficult.
“We managed to catch some hilsa, but heavy rain and rough seas prevented us from casting our nets properly. Often, we had to take significant risks while fishing,” he said.
Another fisherman, Hasan Ali, said many trawlers had yet to venture into deeper waters due to unfavourable weather.
“We remained idle for a long time in compliance with the government ban. Fish are now available in the sea, but poor weather is preventing many trawlers from operating normally. If conditions improve, we expect much larger catches of hilsa in the coming days,” he said.
People associated with the fish landing centre said the gradual return of fishing vessels had brought life back to the area after nearly two months of inactivity.
They expressed optimism that supplies of hilsa and other marine fish species would increase significantly from next week if weather conditions remained favourable, benefiting both fishermen and traders.
By Mohammad Morshed
Photo: Mohammad Morshed
