A hilsa weighing 2.28 kg was sold for Tk6,840 in Kuakata of Patuakhali today.
The hilsa was caught in the net of a fisherman named Almas Khan Majhi from the char area of Hair adjacent to Char Bijay on the Bay of Bengal in the early hours today. Later, he took the fish to Kuakata. Md Hasan, on behalf of Fish Valley at the auction, bought the hilsa.
Almas Majhi said hilsa is becoming less available in the sea. However, large-sized hilsa are still being caught in fishermen’s nets, though no one else in the area has caught such a big fish this year, he added.
Rubel Gharami, director of Moni Fish, mentioned that no hilsa of this size has been caught this season so far.
The presence of eggs in the fish has lowered its price; without the eggs, it would command a higher price, he added.
Apu Saha, senior fisheries officer in Kalapara upazila, remarked that the arrival of large hilsa is a encouraging news for fishermen.
Both deep-sea and coastal fishermen are now regularly catching sizable hilsa, a positive outcome attributed to the government’s seasonal ban on hilsa fishing, he said.
