Inclement weather halts fishing in Bay

As a result, supply of sea fish to the city markets and other places of the country marked a sharp decline, market sources said.

Most of the trawlers and engine boats used for fishing in the Bay of Bengal were staying idle while few of them were sent for maintenance works, marine fisheries department sources said.

Full scale fishing in the deep sea and shallow water of the Bay of Bengal might resume September after the seawater cooled.

"Some fishing trawlers go for harvest braving the rough sea. But it is very risky and therefore, we don't encourage them in this regard," a senior marine fisheries official said.

Many trawlers capsized in the Bay after being caught by stormy weather on many occasions as they had gone for fishing defying the cautionary signals and weather forecasts of Met office, he said.

Some of the crew met with tragic end of their lives, he added.

About 60 trawlers were engaged in deep sea fishing mostly to catch shrimps, fishing sector sources said.

In addition to these, thousands of registered and unregistered engine boats were involved in fishing in the Bay of Bengal to catch pelagic fish, sources added.

There are four rich shrimp grounds in the country's EEZ.

These are called as swatch of no ground known as 'gold mine' located at opposite of Khulna, middle ground at the opposite of Patuakali, south patch situated west of Cox's Bazar and north patch at the west of Kutubdia, marine fisheries sources said.

Most of the shrimps harvested from those grounds are exported abroad to earn foreign currency.

On the other hand, a large quantities of white fish are released in the local markets to meet internal demand.

Talking to The Daily Star the vice president of Chittagong based Trawler Owners' Association (TOA) Md. Salauddin said local markets would get normal supply of sea fish after resumption of fishing in the Bay in September.

The owners of some 14 trawlers on trial operation in the Bay, were lobbying with the government to press them into regular fishing system.

The government already gave permission to 40 more trawlers to operate in the high sea for fish harvest.

Meanwhile, price of local fish went up by 30 per cent to 50 per cent due to less supply of sea fish, market sources said.