Home ›› 08 Oct 2022 ›› Front
Mobarak Hossain is a fisherman at the Banglabazar Ghat at the southernmost point of Sandwip Island, Chattogram. This ghat is a landing centre for dozens of fishing boats and more than 1,000 fishermen.
“Traders, brokers and many financially solvent people come here and buy the fish but fishermen like us hardly get the money to afford it even though we catch them from the sea,” said the 57-year-old.
Years ago, there were only about 50 fishing boats here. This year, there are around 150 boats. The number of fish in the sea has increased but the amount of fish caught per boat has not, he told The Business Post.
Hilsa or ilish, the national fish that is considered a renewable natural resource, is the most widely harvested fish from natural sources and is recognised as a unique Geographical Identified product of Bangladesh.
At least 12 per cent of the total fish production of the nation comes from hilsa, which also contributes about 1 per cent to the GDP.
At present, about 6 lakh people are involved in hilsa fishing and around 25 lakh people are engaged in the fish’s marketing, processing and transporting across the country, said Masud Ara Mome, the district fisheries officer (hilsa management) at the Department of Fisheries.
“These numbers are increasing gradually because every year new boats and fishermen are entering this sector,” she said.
On Wednesday morning, a few hilsas were seen at a shop in the Chomuhani market of Sandwip and a 1 kg fish was sold for Tk 900-1,000.
Seller Gopal Jaldas said it was very difficult to these fish from Banglabazar Ghat. “Because the big traders from the city buy the fish at a high price and that makes it difficult to get the fish in the local market.”
Hilsa out of common people’s reach
The Fishery Ghat in the port city is the largest primary fish market in the country and Chattogram is the country’s fourth largest hilsa landing district.
Every day, hundreds of traders and local buyers gather at the warehouses here to buy hilsa. The number of buyers buying a huge amount of hilsa nowadays from here is higher than the total number of sellers.
Many buyers and sellers said hilsas go to the kitchens of consumers after changing at least four-five hands, starting from fishermen through three types of market — primary, secondary and retail. Without any authorities’ intervention, the price is determined by auctions in the first two markets.
First, the fishermen catch the fish and send them to the nearest market, landing centre or warehouse. From there, wholesale buyers buy and send them to retailers in different parts of the country who sell the fish to general consumers.
There are around 100 warehouses where their owners hold auctions and sell all the hilsa to wholesaler dealers who come from all over the country, said Aminul Islam Babul, general secretary of Sonali Jantrik Motsho Somobay Samiti. The organisation manages this market.
These depot owners, also colloquially called commission agents, charge Tk 3-5 for every Tk 100 from the sold fish. There are at least 10,000 major commission agents and several thousands of small commission agents across the whole country, he said.
Every change in hand increases the price by Tk 50-100 per kg but it does not affect the sales much due to the high demand of hilsa in the market, said Aminul, who is also the general secretary of Mechanised and Non-mechanized Motshojibi Somobay Samiti, a national organization of boat owners and fishermen.
A market of $4.18b
According to Fisheries Department official Mome, the largest fish supply comes from hilsa. Apart from contributing 1 per cent of the GDP, its market is also worth at least $4.18 billion. “But there is no real regulation to maintain and control it.
“We only look at the production. The market system does not come under our monitoring,” she said.
At least 75 per cent of the world’s production of the migratory species of Hilsa is caught in Bangladesh. When it spawns during the monsoon, it migrates from the deep sea to the Meghna estuary region of the Bay of Bengal and the surrounding rivers.
Dr AKM Nowsad Alam, professor of fisheries technology at Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU), told The Business post that in the case of hilsa, the fish goes through three to four auctions starting from the primary market before it reaches the consumers.
Citing market research done by his team, he said the total hilsa market value is around Tk 40,000 crore. In this, boat owners and primary market traders earn and profit the most, then fishermen and retailers.
Dr Anisur Rahman, one of the country’s top hilsa researchers, said this fish is a highly valued renewable natural resource that has economic and emotional value due to its taste and nutrition. “The Commerce Ministry needs to be involved in this market to ensure fair management.”
In another study conducted by BAU researchers, the highest average marketing margin was found in the secondary markets ($0.37 per kg), followed by retail ($0.22 per kg) and primary markets ($0.14 per kg).
Production doubles in 12 years
Hilsa is generally available before and after the new moon and full moon. Some 65 per cent of the migratory fish is caught at sea and the rest are caught from the rivers inside the country, according to the Fisheries Department.
Boat owners and fishermen at Fishery Ghat said that up to 10 tonnes of hilsa can be caught by large commercial boats during every voyage. Such a boat can catch an average of 3-4 tonnes in a week during the season while a small boat can catch a maximum of 150 kgs daily.
Fisheries and Livestock Minister SM Rezaul Karim on Thursday said that hilsa production has doubled in the last 12 years and the rate of production is now 90 per cent.
In FY2008-09, hilsa production in the country was 2.98 lakh tonnes. The amount rose to 5.65 lakh tonnes in FY2020-21.
Over the years, the government has taken various measures, including a fishing ban during the peak breeding season to protect the mother hilsa and increase production for which the authorities also provide subsidies.
Discovering the hilsa breeding season has been a major achievement and it will help to increase production manifold, said Dr Anisur, a director (admin and finance) at Bangladesh Fisheries Researches Institute.
In 2019, 48 per cent of mother hilsa were able to lay eggs during the ban period. It was 51.2 per cent in 2020 and 51.76 per cent in 2021.
Hilsa export was banned in 2012 to control prices in the country. However, some fish are exported following special permission from the government.
According to Minister Rezaul, the government has earned $13.6 million this year so far from exporting 1,352 tonnes of hilsa to India only.
Around 60,000 large and small mechanical and non-mechanical trawlers catch hilsa fish. The investment in these boats ranges from Tk 3 lakh to Tk 1 crore, said Aminul Islam Babul. These boats catch hilsa only for four months and catch other fish the rest of the year.
Dr Anisur said it is true that the government has taken many steps but the weakness in the market system is sending most of the benefits to the boat owners, dealers and commission agents.
More needs to be done to ensure that the benefits also go to the fishermen and general public, he added.
