Depletion of Jamuna Fishes
Fishermen giving up their ancestral profession
Fishes have almost depleted from Jamuna river threatening the livelihood of local fishermen community.
Although the fishermen blame poor navigability for shortage of fishes, untimely catching of fry, use of insecticides in crop fields and lack of governmental and non-governmental steps also contribute largely in disappearing of fishes from the river.
Fisherman Sankar of riverside Bharua village in Bhuapur upazila said, he is catching fish since his childhood but never experienced such severe crisis of fishes in the river.
He said various kinds of big fishes like rui, pangas, ayir, katla and small fishes including pabda, chingri, chela, chapila etc. were supposed to be available at this time of the year, but they have become rare now.
"Though prices of fishes are higher now, it has become tough to maintain livelihood today as I can rarely catch fishes worth Tk 100 in a day," Sankar added.
Sources said fishermen, numbering around 5,000 living by the Jamuna in Bhuapur upazila, are passing hard times due to poor catches.
When this correspondent visited the fishermen village in Govindashi in the upazila recently, fishermen Dinesh Hawlader, 75, Siddhir Hawlader, 70, Noresh Hawlader, 80, narrated that fishes have almost disappeared from the river.
"Many of our community are leaving their ancestral profession selling their nets, boats and other fishing gears," said Dinesh, painting a gloomy future.
Basanti Rani, 60, a fisherwoman of the village, said she has already advised her three sons to look for other profession.
However, Muktadir Khan, upazila fish officer in Bhuapur, said fishes will be available again in the river if sufficient fries can be released under government patronisation and catching is controlled during the breeding period.
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