Gofran Palash, Kalapara (Patuakhali)

About 80 maunds of hilsa were caught in one net in the Bay of Bengal adjacent to Kuakata in Patuakhali.

On Wednesday noon, the FB Abdullah trawler arrived at the Alipur Fisheries Port with a huge quantity of hilsa. Later, the fish were sold at auction for about Tk 20 lakh.

The trawler's boatman, Badsha, said that four days ago, they went to the deep sea with 18 fishermen. After fishing for two days, a huge quantity of hilsa was caught in their net near the last buoy of Payra Port on Tuesday. Although about 80 maunds of hilsa were found, the size of the fish was relatively small.

Meanwhile, ordinary fishermen of the Kuakata, Mahipur, Alipur and Ashakhali coasts complain that they are not getting fish like before despite being in the sea day after day. Many times, they have to return to shore with losses because they cannot afford fuel, ice, food and labor.

Fishermen complain that some trawling boats use modern technology like fish finders, GPS and radar to identify the location of fish. Then, using relatively fine nets, a large amount of fish is caught at once.

They fear that not only large hilsa, but also small hilsa, fry and other marine animals are trapped in these nets. As a result, if small fish are caught indiscriminately, the fish stock may decrease in the future.

According to fisheries experts, if small hilsa are caught without giving them a chance to grow, the number of reproductive hilsa may decrease in the future.

Dr. Rajib Sarkar, Professor of the Department of Fisheries Biology and Genetics at Patuakhali University of Science and Technology, said, "Along with climate change, the use of illegal nets is also one of the reasons for the decline in hilsa.

Kalapara Upazila Senior Fisheries Officer Apu Saha said that legal action is being taken as per the schedule of the Marine Fisheries Act.