A large quantity of hilsa fish is being netted mainly from the Bay of Bengal and different rivers of the country making hilsa more affordable this year.
Many fish traders said that hilsa this year is widely available across the country due to huge supply in bulk quantities. Prices have also dropped on average.
Hundreds of fishing trawlers are found shipping hilsa from the coastal districts mainly from Bhola, Borguna, Noakhali, and Feni to Chandpur – the main hub of hilsa fish trading in Bangladesh.
Fish traders said, even though less quantities of hilsa is found in the rivers, they are being caught in large numbers in the bay and these are slightly smaller in size.
Salah Uddin, a retailer in Chandpur Boro Station, said, "Huge quantities of hilsas are arriving in the markets hence prices have also dropped. The usual price of hilsa is around Tk 1,400 per kg. It is now available atless than taka 1,000 per kg.”
Hasan Ahmed, an e-commerce based hilsa retailer, said, more hilsa is coming to the market this year than the previous years and the price seems to be much lower.
He said the price of hilsa caught in the sea varies from Tk 300-400 per kg whereas each fish weighs about 500 grams .The price of each hilsa weighing around 500 grams is between Tk 350 and Tk 400 while the price of a single hilsa weighing one kg is about Tk 750.”
On the other hand, 300 to 400-gram size of hilsa caught in rivers cost between Tk 300 and Tk 450 per kg and the price of one kg of 500 gram size hilsa is around Tk 500.
“Each hilsa caught from river weighing one kg costs around Tk 1000. The price of hilsa caught in sweet water rivers is a bit higher as it tastes better than the one caught in the Bay,” Hasan added.
However, according to traders, fishermen are catching a lot of hilsa fish in the rivers and in the Bay. So, the supply is adequate. As a result hilsa is now available at reasonably at lower prices.
On Monday, buyers were found happy not only in the markets, but also with hilsa being sold even on rick vans in the alleyways of Dhaka at low prices.
Small fish traders are waiting in the alleyways for the buyers with baskets of hilsa. They said that the sales were going well despite fewer customers on the streets.
The chief scientific officer of Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute (BFRI) of Chandpur, Dr Anisur Rahman, who is also a renowned hilsa researcher of the country, said that the government has already taken good initiatives to increase the production of hilsa through various measures including ban on catching juvenile hilsa popularly known as jhatka, and implementing policies on preventing hilsa catch during breeding season.
He said, “This year the fish appears larger in general in size. Fishermen are also getting better prices. There is a lot of demand in the market also.”
