Chalan Beel traders eye boosting dry fish production

Fish traders in the Chalan Beel region that spreads through Pabna, Natore and Sirajganj districts expect a large production of dry fish this season from November to January, as water has receded resulting in good catches every day.

As well as taking advantage of the countrywide demand of dry fishes produced in the country’s largest wetland region, they want to tap the export market producing quality dry fishes.

The fish traders say they send their dry fish to different places of the country, including Dhaka, Mymensingh, Narayanganj, Syedpur and Nilphamari.

They also export dry fishes to India, where dry fishes, particularly dry Puti fish, are high in demand, they add.

They commercially dry native fishes – Kai, magur, baim, rui, katla, mrigel, baush, ayr, baghair, chital, foli, boal, pabda, tengra, shaul, gajar, taki, nadai, shing, khalisha, puti, shrimp and chang.

Thousands of workers have started washing, sorting through and drying fishes at more than 300 sheds in the region. A male worker gets a daily wage of Tk 300, while a female worker Tk 150.

Rafiqul Islam, a dry fish trader from Binayekpur village in Ullaparaupazila in Sirajganj, says he is now selling raw puti fish at Tk 40 to 60 per kg, chanda at Tk 80 to 95, khalisha at Tk 40 to 45 and shrimp at Tk 60 to 90.

As for raw fishes, he says he is selling dry puti fish at Tk 130 to 200 per kg, chanda at Tk120 to 150, khalisha at Tk140 to 145 and shrimp at Tk160 to 190.

When 40 kg of raw fish is dried, 13 kg of dry fish is made, the fish trader notes.

Nannu Hossain, of Shapgari village in Gurudaspur, who has been dealing in dry fishes for about 25 years, says there is a huge demand in India for puti fish produced from Chalon Beel region but it costs much to export there.

He adds that they have suffered big losses so far this year amid the pandemic and now expect to make up for some losses with huge production of dry fish this season.

Delwar Hossain, a dry fish trader from Sekendaspur village in Salangar upazila in Sirajganj, says he lost about Tk 100,000 last year and now expects good profits as prices of their produced dry fishes are satisfactory.

Some traders say the dry fish business depends on luck, as prices of dry fishes do not always remain the same.

They add that they have been suffering due to lack of dry fish storage facilities in the region too.

Mahbubur Rahman, a senior upazila fisheries officer in Chatmohar, said every year from the end of October till November, a lot of fishes are caught in the Chalan Beel region.

The dry fish traders of the area will benefit if Chalan Beel-based dry fish sales and storage facilities are constructed, he says.

Deputy Commissioner of Pabna Kabir Mahmud says there is a huge demand for dry fishes from Chalon Beel region across the country.

With the recession of water, a large number of different types of fishes are being caught everyday, he says.

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