Ban on Hilsa Fishing Goes Midnight Thursday: Fishermen fear cyclone Arnab and pirates
After a long break, fishermen are preparing to go to sea. Photo: Mahidul Islam
The 22-day ban imposed during the prime breeding season of hilsa is ending on Friday. Coastal fishermen are expected to head out to sea after 12 midnight Thursday. They have also completed preparations to sail after the long break. But even though the ban is lifted, they are not yet getting the courage for a trouble-free sea voyage. Under the influence of Cyclone Arnab, adverse weather and a turbulent Bay of Bengal have emerged as new obstacles for them. As a result, fishermen and boat owners are uncertain about going to deep sea to fish on the very first day.
Although their income had stopped because they could not fish for a long three weeks, household expenses, trawler costs, and paying previous loan installments did not stop. Added to this is the fear of storms and pirates. All together, fishermen, trawler owners, aratdars (wholesalers), and fish traders are worried at the very start of the new season.
Fishermen repair net. Agamir Somoy photo.
During the ban period, nets were repaired and trawlers overhauled. At the last moment, fuel, food, and ice were arranged as preparations for the sea voyage. But due to adverse weather, even after completing preparations, they must wait for favorable conditions. As a result, along with the joy of the ban ending, anxiety prevails among the coastal fishing communities.
Today, Wednesday, such a picture of preparations for the sea voyage was seen while visiting various fish arats, fishing villages, and the ghat areas of the fish landing center in Sharankhola, coastal Bagerhat.
At the ghat of the Sharankhola fish landing center, fishermen were seen busy with last-minute preparations. More than half a hundred fishing trawlers are anchored at the ghat. Food supplies, fuel, and necessary equipment are being loaded onto some trawlers. After the long break, busy activity was seen across the ghat in preparation for going to sea.
Activity among workers also increased at the ice factories. Large blocks of ice are being broken into small pieces. Later, these are being loaded onto trawlers.
Fishermen said they were busy repairing nets and preparing trawlers during the ban period. Now they are waiting for the weather to become normal. Because taking trawlers out into a turbulent sea is risky. They will have to wait at the ghat until the weather becomes favorable.Meanwhile, aratdars, trawler owners, and moneylenders, already battered by losses, are also going through a difficult time. They have to invest large sums of money to cover trawler operation, net purchase, fuel, food, and other expenses. Each trawler has received loans of lakhs of taka. They reinvest for the new season from the income of fish sales.But if they cannot fish, the burden of losses keeps increasing. They struggle to recover the money from previous investments. Then there is no way but to take new loans.Md. Kabir Howladar, a fish aratdar in Sharankhola, said that this year almost all traders are in losses to some extent. His own investment in seven to eight trawlers is more than one crore taka.He said that in the last season, fish worth three to four crore taka were sold from his trawlers. But this time, fish worth only one crore taka have been sold. He had invested in the trawlers by collecting money from various sources. As he did not get the expected fish, he is now under pressure from loans.Kabir Howladar further said that although the 22-day ban has ended, the trawlers cannot go to sea due to bad weather. If the weather becomes normal, there are plans to send the trawlers out from November 2 and 3. Therefore, nets, ice, food, and other equipment are being arranged in advance.Because fishing is stopped during the hilsa breeding season, fishermen's regular income stops. But during this time, they have to take loans to meet household expenses. This was stated by local fishermen Jalil Howladar, Rafiqul Islam, and many others.They said that this time, after the ban ends, they have faced adverse weather again before going to sea. They had hoped to go to sea on the first day after the ban ended. They planned to meet household expenses and repay loans with the money earned by catching fish at sea, but the adverse weather has disappointed them.The fishermen allege that each of them has been fishing at sea for 10–15 years. But many of them are deprived of government benefits. They do not receive the food assistance the government provides during the ban period. Yet there are also many who are not fishermen but still receive benefits.Trawler owners Shahidul Islam, Belayet Khan, and Halim Bayati said that if they cannot go fishing on the first day, the expected income will be delayed. On the other hand, even if the trawlers remain at the ghat, cost pressure will increase.Expressing concern, fishermen and moneylenders said there is fear of pirate attacks in the Sundarbans and the Bay of Bengal. They also fear being held hostage by pirates while fishing at sea, demands for ransom, and looting of fish and goods. Even if they go to sea risking danger, they remain uncertain about whether they will get the expected fish.Md. Abul Hossain, president of the Sharankhola Trawler Owners Association, said that if the weather gets normal, fishing will start quickly. If fishermen can fish safely after the long break, their worries will be gone and traders will also have the opportunity to recover their invested money. However, whether they can get the expected fish in the new season, go to sea safely, and overcome previous losses is now the big challenge.Abul Hossain further said that storms and pirates have emerged as major threats to fishermen at sea. Without suppressing pirates, safe fishing is impossible. Therefore, he demanded that the government and law enforcement agencies conduct strict operations in this regard.Anjan Biswas, senior fisheries officer of Sharankhola Upazila, said that the 22-day ban on hilsa harvesting will be lifted at midnight on Thursday. After that, if nets are cast in the sea, the expected fish will be caught in the fishermen's nets. However, due to adverse weather, fishermen are facing some difficulty in going to sea on the first day.Anjan Biswas further said that to ensure trouble-free fishing at sea, higher authorities will take effective steps in coordination with law enforcement agencies to eliminate storms and pirates.
