Traders create artificial crisis by storing hilsa to raise prices later

It was my friend’s birthday, and I forgot to wish him. As penance, I treated him to a hilsa dinner.

Many people are yet to taste hilsa this season because of exorbitant prices, while the peak period for catching the national fish draws to a close. Fishermen in the Bay of Bengal say this year’s hauls are far smaller than last year’s.

The government has imposed a 22-day ban, starting October 7, on catching, selling and transporting hilsa in a 7,000-km breeding ground to ensure the safe spawning of this popular fish during its peak breeding period.

Hilsa, our national fish, has become an inseparable part of Pahela Baishakh (Bangla New Year) celebrations, but experts say the practice has no roots in a thousand years of Bengali tradition.

Mobile Courts in Bhola and Chandpur jailed 36 fishermen and fined three others yesterday and the day before for defying the on-going temporary ban on hilsa fishing.