A record 25,600 kg of eggs were collected as the brood fish (mother fish) of indigenous species released eggs in the Halda River, Bangladesh’s largest natural breeding ground for carp.
As many as 650 fishermen on 280 boats started collecting the eggs on the both side of the river banks on Friday morning amid low tide.
Fishermen from Hathazari and Rawzan upzillas along with fisheries department officials collected eggs till 3.30pm on Friday after mother fishes started releasing eggs on Thursday night.
Manjurul Kibria, an expert on Halda river and professor of zoology at Chittagong Chattogram University, told Bangladesh Post that the amount of fish eggs collection is the highest in the last 12 years due to various effort to save the river from pollution,
Carp fishes lay eggs in the river during high and low tide on the night of the new moon or the full moon when thunderstorms and flash floods occur between mid-April and early June.
This year, the time of new moon started at 10pm on Thursday.
Ruhul Amin, Upazila Executive Officer of Hathazarisaid, “No more egg collection after the low tide is over and government and privately-run hatcheries will produce fish fry by boiling eggs.”
Eggs collection in Halda has seen a downtrend in the recent years for many reasons including pollution. Some 10,000 kg of eggs was collected last year.
The number of fishes also reduced due to frequent fishing on the river.
Due to the closure of two industries in near Halda amid the lockdown over the growing coronavirus outbreak, less movement of sand-carrying dredgers coupled with the awareness campaign to save mother fish, fishermen expected a high yield in egg collection this year.
Besides, a virtual High Court bench on May 12 ordered the authorities concerned to act in order to protect mother fishes as well as environment and biodiversity of the Halda River.
