Is vigilance enough to stop pillaging of egg-laden fish in Halda?

Kamal Soudagor does not mince his words.

As a volunteer vigilant, he was frustrated at the ineffectiveness of holistic vigilance in the Halda River to stop illegal fish harvesting during the breeding season.

“Let me tell you a story. One day I spotted a fisherman with his net at the river’s estuary. The fisherman, in tears, told me that he is cash-strapped at the moment as his wife just had surgery. He was hoping to buy some food and medicine after selling the fish,” he said.

“Nobody wants to hear those people whose lives are dependent on the river. These people are poor and desperate,”

Kamal, who collects fertilised fish eggs during breeding season from the river, came up with a solution too.

“You want them to stop fishing to protect egg-laden fish? Then rehabilitate them first.”

Authorities are concerned that it is open season for illegal fish harvesters as Livebearer carp fish with eggs have begun to appear in the Halda, famous for breeding carp fish, locally known as Rohu or Rui.

A tributary of the Karnaphuli River in Chattogram, Halda is also the home to endangered Gangetic dolphins.

The river has lost its character over the years due to pollution and dams.

Mother fish begin laying roes in one of South Asia’s largest natural hatchery in the Halda river. Photo: Suman Babu

To protect the river and its resources, the Bangladesh government in Dec last year declared the whole 81 km-long Halda River and 23,422 acres of land adjoining its banks as Bangabandhu Fisheries Heritage.

Declaring heritage means fish or aquatic animals cannot be caught in this river. However, fertilised fish eggs may be procured at specific times during the breeding season every year under the supervision of the Department of Fisheries (DoF).

During pre-breeding and breeding season (Mar-Jul) for Rohu fish, no engine-driven boats are allowed to ply the river, but that is hardly the case.

A ‘NUMBERS’ GAME’?

One current and one former Upazila nirbahi officers (UNO) of Hathazari concur with the notion.

Current UNO Md Shahidul Alam led 43 mobile court raids in the last 10 months and had recovered and destroyed 110,000 metre-long fishnets and 11 boats, operating on the river during the breeding season.

“We [authorities] collected Tk 60,000 as penalty from the perpetrators and sentenced one person for 15 days in jail,” he said.

Though he sounded optimistic about the impact of his raids in the coming months, previous data suggests these vigilance efforts are not enough to put a stop to rampant illegal fish harvesting.

Former UNO Ruhul Amin, in his almost three-year tenure from 2018, led 178 raids and destroyed 303,400 metre-long fishnets.

In a year and two months from Jan 2021, River Police had recovered and destroyed 1.29 million metre-long fishnets in 102 raids.

Not everyone is buying these numbers though.

“Forget about the fishnets, I don’t believe that these many fishermen are operating in the river, as described by the authorities,” Aminul Islam, a resident, said.

He also questioned the effectiveness of these so-called raids and seemed suspicious about whether the authorities are destroying any of the fishnets.

Police, local administration and the DoF had dismissed these allegations. Rather, they said, some wealthy and influential locals are even investing to pillage fishes from the river commercially.

River police chief ABM Mizanur Rahman said fishnets are expensive, ranging from Tk 30,000 to Tk 60,000.

“If a fisherman loses one, it is hard for him to come up with a new one. But we are seeing even after raids, those same fishermen are coming up with new nets, which raises our suspicion that wealthy investors have been running illegal commercial operations to catch fishes from the river,” he said.

POVERTY IS THE MAIN FACTOR, THEN COMES GREED

Though the administration and the DoF have been campaigning throughout the year to discourage fishermen to leave the river alone and create awareness, locals and even some stakeholders within the administration believe they are putting a dent in people’s consciousness.   

Main reason? Poverty runs deep on both sides of the river.

Integrated Development Foundation or IDF is an NGO which has been working to create the opportunity for the livelihood of entrepreneurs by conserving and developing natural breeding ground of carp fishes for the last three years. It estimates that the livelihoods of at least 2,500 fishermen and more than 600 fertilised fish egg collectors depend on the river.

Egg-laden fish at risk as thieves pillage Halda River  

Kamal Soudagor wants the government to accommodate the needs of the poor fishermen, living in the villages of three breeding hotspots- Hathazari, Rowzan and Fatikchhari -- all close to the river.

“At the moment, there is no incentives for these poor fishermen. Tell me, how these people will live?” he ponders.

Though some beg to differ with the idea.

Mahmudul Hasan, a project manager for IDF, believes arranging alternative means of income for these fishermen is the ultimate solution.

“The government needs to train and encourage these fishermen to either engage in agriculture or fish farming,” he said.

From 2007 to 2013, these fishermen used to receive loans from the government to find alternative sources of income under a government scheme.

DoF wants to revive the scheme again, says Kamrul Huda Roni, a department official.

“We have already submitted a proposal in this regard with the Chattogram District Administration,” he said.

A SORRY STATE OF AWARENESS LEVEL

Prof Manzoorul Kibria, the convener of Halda River Research Laboratory, emphasised creating awareness among the fishermen.

“No outsider can stop pillaging. Locals need to come forward and motivate these fishermen to stop illegal fish harvesting from the river,” Kibria, also a teacher at the Zoology Department at Chattogram University, said.

Former UNO Ruhul Amin agrees with him.

“In my estimation, only 10 percent of the population on both sides of the rivers are aware of the effect of illegal fish catching. That is why the authorities are not succeeding in curbing the trend,” he said.

Locals, however, want more government involvement in creating awareness.

“Some NGOs were able to create some awareness after years of efforts. We want local government representatives to engage themselves more to raise awareness,” he said.

[Written in English by Adil Mahmood]