Even during the peak season fishermen in Jhalakathi are returning from the Sugandha and Bishkhali rivers with empty nets due to a severe shortage of the highly coveted hilsa.
Despite casting their nets day and night the meager catch—often just one or two fish per boat—fails to cover basic fuel costs leaving local fishing communities in financial distress. A few years ago these waters were teeming with hilsa but the reality today is starkly different.
According to the Department of Fisheries the primary cause of this crisis is the emergence of underwater sandbars and a loss of river navigability (depth), which obstruct the hilsa from migrating upstream from the sea.
This drastic drop in supply has heavily impacted local markets. With fish scarce, vendors have been forced to hike prices and hilsa is currently selling for Tk 2,800 to Tk 3,000 per kilogram.
To help restore the river's hilsa population Jhalakathi District Fisheries Officer Md. Enamul Haque stated that authorities are conducting mobile court drives to remove illegal nets as part of ongoing jatka (juvenile hilsa) and mother hilsa conservation campaigns.
Official data indicates there are 7,718 registered fishermen in Jhalakathi. However an estimated 3,000 additional unregistered fishermen rely on these rivers, and all are currently bearing the brunt of this seasonal crisis.
