There were  a lot of fish in the haor areas of Kishoreganj, Sunamganj, Netrokona, Habiganj, Moulvibazar, Sylhet  and Brahmanbaria districts. 

Due to the lack of sanctuaries  unplanned leasing of water bodies, indiscriminate killing of fish that lay eggs, and excessive use of fertilisers and pesticides on cropland, fish are now no Langer available in the haor as before various species of fish are no the verge of extinction. 

The haor region, encompassing 429 haors water  bodies and water lands across 25 upazilas in seventh northeastern districts includes 28000 government water bodies and 6300 beels, covering approximately  858460 hectares. 

In Kishoreganj,  Once upon a time, various species of delicious local fish were available in the rivers, canals, and ponds of this region, which are submerged in water for most of the year. Hundreds of boats used to arrive at the Balikhla fish market on the banks of the Dhanu River in Karimganj , every morning with fish. The market is still open, fish are coming, but the previous splendor is gone. 

Local fish has decreased, and business is also in crisis. One species after another is disappearing. The livelihoods of thousands of fishermen are under threat.Emptiness in the morning market
Monir  a fisherman from Itna, said, "What I catch by casting my net all night is not worth the cost. Pabda, Chapila - the fish that were often found before, are now barely visible.

Fisherman Mohitur  said, "I used to bring fish by loading boats. Now the fish are lying on the bottom of the boat. We are struggling to run our families. Many are being forced to change their professions - some are moving to the city, some are working as daily wage laborers.

Fish production has decreased due to the decrease in water in the haor. On top of that, the use of banned nets has taken a serious shape. Shopkeeper Nipendra Barman of Balikhla Bazar said, 'There are 65 shops in this market. Earlier, each shop used to sell fish worth an average of 6-7 lakh taka per day. Now it has decreased a lot. Small shopkeepers are in more trouble.'

Salah Uddin, general secretary of Fish  Market , said, "Two or three years ago, fish worth 4 to 5 crore taka was traded daily. Due to the decrease in fish, all fishermen and fishmongers are in trouble. Now, even wholesalers are not coming as before."

Experts say that,  haors do not have the same amount of rain water as before. Rivers and water bodies are being filled with silt, which is hindering the movement and reproduction of fish. Along with this, there is anarchy of banned nets. Everything, including mother fish and fry, is being caught indiscriminately. This is disrupting the fish's reproductive cycle. The water is also being polluted due to the widespread use of pesticides in haor cultivation. It has become difficult for fish to survive. In addition, fish habitat is also being lost due to unplanned dams, roads and encroachment of water bodies.

A decade ago, 143 species of native fish were found in the haor. Currently, 70 to 75 species survive. Many fish, including chapila, shing, gajar, khalse, kalbaush, tatkini, mahashol, shol, are no longer seen. Rui, katal, boal, tengra, gajar are found to some extent. However, they are not as readily available as before.
In the 2022-23 fiscal year, the total fish production in Kishoreganj district was 94,887 metric tons. Of this, 28,020 tons came from haors, which is about 30 percent of the total production. However, the annual fish demand of the district is 70,530 tons.
Although the production figures still seem satisfactory, the supply of haor-based fish is decreasing every year. If this trend continues, it will become difficult to rely on haors to meet demand in the future, concerned people fear. 

When contact to District Fisheries Officer (DFO) of Kishoreganj, Md. Shahidul Islam told the New Nation that  "Due to the decrease in water and the use of banned nets, the fish's reproductive cycle is breaking down.

We are conducting operations to protect the species, confiscating nets. Various other activities are underway. However, this is not possible only for the administration, the locals also have to be aware.", DFO added.