All varieties of local fish facing quick extinction in Kurigram

Newsofdhaka24.com ; Published: Wednesday, April 13, 2022, 08:25 p.m

Fish Being Extinct,

Golam Rabbani., Kurigram Correspondent. .

All varieties of local small fish are drastically declining in all the nine upazilas of Kurigram district due to fall of water level in the rivers, ponds and water bodies and mother fishes are being caught..

The local hats and bazaars are flooded with high breed indiscriminately to varieties if fish. The price of those fish is so high that those beyond the purchasing capacity of the common people..

A total of 20 varieties of small fish including puti, koi, magur, baim, chital, darka, khoilsa,shoail, shing,gata, boal,mowa,pabda,tengra and bhada are decreasing. The varieties of fishes are not found in the market at present like previous years. The supply of natural fish has been declined drastically..

Once the poor people who live on catching fish of locally known as “Majhi” catch these small species of fish with small boats and are sold in the market after meeting the demand of their houses. Some of them were maintained their families with the earning. There was no shortage of these species of fish. Some fishes were dried in the sunny day is called “shutki” which were very popular and tasty among the people Rangpur region especially in Kurigram district..

It is said that the Banglalis are with fish and rice are disappearing gradually..

The production and increasing generation of these species of fish is decreasing alarmingly as the rivers, canals, ponds, water bodies are dried up using the current nets and pesticides polluting of water bodies, navigability of rivers..

In addition, construction of embankment, decreasing depth of water bodies and canals, earth filling of some water bodies catching mother fishes by irrigation cultivating of big and foreign fishes natural disaster increasing population as well as lack of awareness, sources said..

Manik 56, Dulal40 and Amal 45 fish sellers of Kurigram municipality market told this correspondent that a few number of species if local small fish were available sometimes in the rivers as well as water bodies which will decline in the future, they added..

Andul Wahed 45 a madrasha teacher, Abdur Rashid 43 a businessman and Abdul Malek a govt. employee buyers of small species of fish told New Age in the fish market that we have not found small species of fish..

Although some small species of fish are found in the market now and then whose prices are so high that it was beyond the purchasing capacity of common consumers..

According to Kurigram district fishery official sources, a total of 8,896 ponds (8817 in private owned and 79 in khas land) on 1,109.12 hectares of land,169 water bodies on 1,626 hectares of land and 13 rivers on 18,794 hectares of land in all the nine upazilas in the diastrict..

Upazila wise ponds, water bodies and river areas are as follows- 825 ponds,24 water bodies and 2 rivers in Kurigram sadar upa zilas,1,296 ponds,19 water bodies and 2 rivers in Ulipur upazila,821 ponds,18 water bodies and 2 rivers in Rajarhat upazila,249 ponds,2 water bodies and 2 rivers in Chilmari upazila,1,052 ponds,25 water bodies and 4 rtivers in Roumari upazila,393 ponds,3 water bodies and 4 rivers in Rajibpur upazila,967 ponds,13 waterbodies and 1 river in Phulbari upazila,1,236 ponds,11 water bodies and 5 rivers in Bhurungamari upazila and 2,057 ponds,54 water bodies and 5 rivers in Nageswari upazila..

Kurigram District Fishery Officer Kalipada Roy told that some local fishes including Koi,Magur,shinghi,Pabda are being produced in various ways now which are also being sold in the markets. The buyers are also purchasing those fishes at low cost..

In addition, we are trying to make environment to recover local pieces of fishes. We are supplying leaflets among the people to build up awareness not to catch local fishes with nets from the rivers as their breeding are being hampered. Sometimes we seize nets of fishermen from the rivers and water bodies. .

The awareness among people should be created not to catch small fishes and if both government and public jointly work to increase of breading of small fishes then our district will be full filled with small fishes, concerned officials said..