Fishermen in Cox's Bazar are returning empty-handed from the deep sea. They claimed that strong storms had compelled them to head back toward the coast. Traders don't want to send fishermen to the sea anymore because they are not getting fish after spending millions of takas. There is fear of more than 50,000 workers becoming unemployed. According to traders, excessive floods and trawling practices have reduced the amount of fish in the ocean. There won't be any fish in the ocean by 2030 If this continues. Meanwhile, revenue collection for the government has also dropped.
It was seen on Saturday that a trawler called FB Nishan anchored on the shore of the Bankkhali River in Cox's Bazar. There is no end to the worries of the fishermen Bashir, Shahed, Rafiq, and Ali sitting there. 22 fishermen, including them, went to the sea twice last month, spending Tk10 lakh. But no sea fish, including hilsa, was caught in the sea. Eventually, trawler owners are no longer sending fishermen out to sea due to losses. Now they are worried about how the family will run or when they will be able to return to fishing in the sea.
It was seen on Saturday that a trawler called FB Nishan anchored on the shore of the Bankkhali River in Cox's Bazar. There is no end to the worries of the fishermen Bashir, Shahed, Rafiq, and Ali sitting there. 22 fishermen, including them, went to the sea twice last month, spending Tk10 lakh. But no sea fish, including hilsa, was caught in the sea. Eventually, trawler owners are no longer sending fishermen out to sea due to losses. Now they are worried about how the family will run or when they will be able to return to fishing in the sea.
"I'm worried, as I went to the sea and threw nets for 10 days but did not find any fish. So, I was forced to return to the coast empty-handed," said Bashir Ahmed, the fisherman of the FB Nishan trawler.
"15 of us went fishing in the sea after spending Tk five lakh. However, after throwing nets in the sea for 11 days, I found a few fish, which I sold at the fish landing center for only Tk 60,000. Accordingly, the loss to the owner of the trawler is about Tk 4 lakh 40 thousand. Now trawler owners are no longer sending us for fishing to the sea. So I have become unemployed," said Shahedul Islam, another fisherman.
"Due to intense heat, the seawater has also become hot. The upper part of the ocean is turbulent. The fish went too deep. Therefore, no fish can be found even if the net is thrown," said a sailor named Rashed.
The owners of trawlers claim that the sea is becoming fishless due to the violence of the trawling vessels along with the intense storms. Trawling is a modern industrial method of fishing. A net is dragged behind one or more boats to catch fish. It is placed on the seabed.
"At one point, fish are not available in the sea due to intense heat, and on the other hand, the sea is becoming fishless due to trawling vessels. As the use of trawling vessels is increasing day by day, there is a danger that the sea will become fishless by the year 2030," said Azad Rahman, the owner of the trawler.
It was seen that one after another, fishing trawlers were returning from the sea to the coast. Even if the ghat is crowded, there is a familiar scene of the movement of fish. Rows of fishing trawlers are anchored in the Bankkhali River. On average, sea fish worth Tk 30 to 50 crore is sold and bought at Cox's Bazar fish landing center every day. But this place is now largely devoid of fish. Fishermen and traders are spending time without work.
"When the three pontoons of the fish landing center are filled with sea fish, fish worth Tk 50 to 60 crore are sold on average every day. But now less than Tk 1 crore of fish is being sold daily. More than five hundred fish traders are in dire straits," said Abu Bakkar, a fish trader.
The authorities of Cox's Bazar Fish Landing Center say that due to the fish famine, the fish traders are facing losses as well as collapsing revenue. There are about 65,000 registered fishermen in Cox's Bazar, and there are about 6 thousand registered boats.
"Last year at this time, fish worth billions of rupees were sold every day. But now fish is being sold for very little money. About 40 percent of the fish are being sold. The revenue collection has also collapsed due to this," said Ashish Kumar Vaidya, Fish Landing Center Assistant Controller of Cox's Bazar.
