Fishermen of Sundarbans happy with catch

After the three-month ban on entering the Sundarbans imposed by the government for proper breeding of wild animals, the fishermen have resumed fishing in the forest’s rivers.

Hundreds of boats carrying the fishermen have returned to various canals of the Sundarbans after the long time ban.  Fishermen, trawler owners and fish traders are happy with large catches after such a long period.

The prices of fish in the markets of Khulna have started to go down as supply increases.

During a visit on Friday, this correspondent saw fishermen, and businessmen busy with trade, and transport of fish at the Deolia market of Koyra upazila in Khulna. Both wholesale and retail fish trade go on at the market.

Different types of fish including shrimp, lobster, datne, parse, java or bhol, gangra, payra, and koikhol are sold at the market. But shrimp and datne are the most popular.

Datne fishes are being sold at a wholesale rate of Tk 120-410 per kg depending on size, shrimp for Tk 220-420 per kg, and parse for Tk 80-90 per kg.

Java fish holds the highest price tag, being sold for Tk 2,250-2500 per kg.

Hafizul Islam, a trader, leased 15 boats to catch fish in the canals of Sundarbans this season.

On Friday, the boats returned with around 500 kg of fish which the trader sold for about Tk 70,000.

According to Hafizul, he pays the fishermen Tk 5,000 each, along with six days’ worth of food. Each boat carrying two fishermen remains in the canals of the forest for six days.

“There are also some additional costs but whatever profit I make from selling the catch is mine to keep. I’ve been in this business for about 20 years,” he added.

Noor Mohammad, a businessman of Koira village, said fishermen are happy as there is adequate fish in the rivers and canals.

“I have leased five boats this time. On the first trip they returned with 100 kg fish and on the second they caught 130 kg of fish. Shrimp and datne fishes are the most common among the catch,” he said.

Trader Faruq Hossain said, “We get datne and parse fishes more rather than shrimps. Using vesal nets (lift nets) is illegal so we have to use charpata nets which are not suitable for catching shrimps.”

Another trader said many fishers were unable to go due to Boat Licence Certificate (BLC) complications. This year, the authorities are taking several times more money for the pass, he added.

However, some fishermen alleged that moneylenders are falsifying Boat Licence Certificate (BLC) and obstructing local fisher’s opportunities to go fishing.

Fishermen like Sohrab Gazi, Saeed Mollah, Abdur Rahman and Sachin were happy being able to fish in the Sundarbans again without having to fear bandit attacks.

Jamal Uddin, a fisherman from Maharajpur area said, “We have caught the expected amount of fish after such a long ban. We hope to catch more on the next trip.”

Maharajpur UP member Md Abu Sayeed said, “Most of the complications regarding BLC have been resolved. But the forest office is not responsible for this; the local unscrupulous moneylenders create those complications.”

Md Insan Ali, a wholesale trader of Deolia fish market, said, “We buy fish at different rates depending on their size. We get shrimps for Tk 330-380 and datne for Tk 180-350.”

Koyra Kasiabad Forest Station Officer Md Aktaruzzaman said the availability of fish in the canals of the forest has increased due to the government ban. “There were no irregularities in the issuance of BLC passes,” he added.

As per the recommendations of the Integrated Resources Management Plans (IRMP), the Sundarbans Forest Department signed an agreement in 2019 to protect the fisheries resources in the Sundarbans.

As a part of this, from 2020, fishing in all rivers and canals of Sundarbans East and West Forest Division has been banned from July 1 to August 31 every year. After the ban, fishermen were allowed to resume fishing from September 1.

According to forest department sources, there are 450 rivers and canals in Sundarbans. Fishing is prohibited throughout the year in the 30 canals declared as sanctuaries and canals less than 25 feet wide.

The local fishermen with permits earn their livelihood by fishing in the rivers, canals and swamps of Sundarbans.