Production target set at 11 tons

Fishermen busy drying fish

Hundreds of fishermen and workers in the greater Chalan Beel region are now busy drying fishes now being caught in plenty.
Spreading across nine upazilas of four districts-Sirajganj, Pabna, Natore and Naogaon northern districts-Chalan Beel is a series of wetlands connected by channels of water in the lower Atrai basin.
During the rainy season varieties of fishes come to the huge water body for spawning and breeding.
Now with the recession of water in the Beel, netting of fishes has started in a festive mood. But the joy of the fishermen is often showed by the dilemma they suffer from inability to preserve the huge quantity of fish netted every day. They do send some of the fish to Dhaka and Chittagong markets and the rest is sun dried as there is no preservation facility.
Sources said about 300 fish terraces have been set up at different places in Tarash, Raiganj, Ullapara and Shahzadpur upazila in Sirajganj, Chatmohor, Bhangura and Faridpur upazila in Pabna, Singra and Gurudaspur upazila in Natore and Atrai upazila in Naogaon district this year.
Large quantities of local varieties of fishes like mola, walking fish, cat fish, carp, bacha, tengra, pangas, eel fish and many others are caught from the Beel by the fishermen and dried at the terraces.
Fishermen said they prefer the fish to be sundried for special taste. Some 10 to 15 labourers, mostly women, are engaged at each terrace on a  daily basis. This has provided around 4500 poor and ultra poor people with temporary jobs. These dry fishes are supplied to different parts in the country after fulfilling the local demand, they said.
Delbar Hossain, 40, of Sekenderpur village in Solonga thana of Sirajganj district, Jahidul Islam, 35, of Mathnagor village in Naldanga upazila and Nannu Mian, 30, of Shapgari village in Singra upazila of Natore district said they collect a large quantity of fishes from the Beel.
They said they purchase per maund of fresh fishes at prices ranging from Tk 700 to Tk 10,000. A kilogram of dry fish is produced from 3 kg of fresh fish. Per maund of dry fish on the basis of variety is sold between Tk 2000 and 16,000, they added.
The dry fish traders said they need at least a month time for marketing the dry fish. These are supplied to different parts of the country for sale.
Afzal Hossain, 35, of Bepachan village in Tarash upazila said many people in the Chalan Beel area are now leading their livelihoods with the earning from dry fish business.
Harendra Nath Sarker, District Fisheries Officer (DFO) in Sirajganj, said a festive mood for producing dry fish is prevailing in the Chalan Beel area like in the previous years. This year, they have fixed the production target of dry fishes at around 11 tons worth around Tk 50 lakh in the Chalan Beel area. If the producers can preserve the dry fish properly they will get a good benefit, he hopes.
He, however, asked the fishermen, fish traders and dry fish producers not to use toxic chemicals or medicines for preservation.

 

Production target set at 11 tons

Fishermen busy drying fish

Hundreds of fishermen and workers in the greater Chalan Beel region are now busy drying fishes now being caught in plenty. Spreading across nine upazilas of four districts-Sirajganj, Pabna, Natore and Naogaon northern districts-Chalan Beel is a series of wetlands connected by channels of water in the lower Atrai basin. During the rainy season varieties of fishes come to the huge water body for spawning and breeding. Now with the recession of water in the Beel, netting of fishes has started in a festive mood. But the joy of the fishermen is often showed by the dilemma they suffer from inability to preserve the huge quantity of fish netted every day. They do send some of the fish to Dhaka and Chittagong markets and the rest is sun dried as there is no preservation facility. Sources said about 300 fish terraces have been set up at different places in Tarash, Raiganj, Ullapara and Shahzadpur upazila in Sirajganj, Chatmohor, Bhangura and Faridpur upazila in Pabna, Singra and Gurudaspur upazila in Natore and Atrai upazila in Naogaon district this year. Large quantities of local varieties of fishes like mola, walking fish, cat fish, carp, bacha, tengra, pangas, eel fish and many others are caught from the Beel by the fishermen and dried at the terraces. Fishermen said they prefer the fish to be sundried for special taste. Some 10 to 15 labourers, mostly women, are engaged at each terrace on a daily basis. This has provided around 4500 poor and ultra poor people with temporary jobs. These dry fishes are supplied to different parts in the country after fulfilling the local demand, they said. Delbar Hossain, 40, of Sekenderpur village in Solonga thana of Sirajganj district, Jahidul Islam, 35, of Mathnagor village in Naldanga upazila and Nannu Mian, 30, of Shapgari village in Singra upazila of Natore district said they collect a large quantity of fishes from the Beel. They said they purchase per maund of fresh fishes at prices ranging from Tk 700 to Tk 10,000. A kilogram of dry fish is produced from 3 kg of fresh fish. Per maund of dry fish on the basis of variety is sold between Tk 2000 and 16,000, they added. The dry fish traders said they need at least a month time for marketing the dry fish. These are supplied to different parts of the country for sale. Afzal Hossain, 35, of Bepachan village in Tarash upazila said many people in the Chalan Beel area are now leading their livelihoods with the earning from dry fish business. Harendra Nath Sarker, District Fisheries Officer (DFO) in Sirajganj, said a festive mood for producing dry fish is prevailing in the Chalan Beel area like in the previous years. This year, they have fixed the production target of dry fishes at around 11 tons worth around Tk 50 lakh in the Chalan Beel area. If the producers can preserve the dry fish properly they will get a good benefit, he hopes. He, however, asked the fishermen, fish traders and dry fish producers not to use toxic chemicals or medicines for preservation.