Hilsa fishermen of coastal East Midnapore and South 24-Parganas this weekend ended their dry spell of the past two months.
Sources said that fishermen returned to Digha in East Midnapore, and South 24-Parganas, with a hilsa haul of 50 tonne between Friday and Sunday.
To put this figure in perspective, fishermen from these areas normally expect a daily hilsa haul of 1,000 tonne in early August.
“It is nothing compared to hilsa hauls in other years, but whatever it is, it will help us recover some money,” Bijon Maity, secretary of Kakdwip Fishermen’s Association in South 24-Parganas, said, adding the catch in June and July was “virtually nothing”.
Fishermen and other stakeholders of hilsa trade attributed the haul to the recent low-pressure formation over the Bay of Bengal.
Though a sea fish, the hilsa swims from the Bay of Bengal to rivers to spawn. Rain and easterly winds help the shoals reach the rivers, say fishermen.
“Low pressure formation last week is starting to induce the fish to flock to rivers,” said a source in Digha Fishermen’s Association. “Since June, we faced unexpected weather, including westerly wind and lower-than-usual rainfall. That made the hilsa stay away and everyone connected with the trade suffered.”
Agreed Digha Fishermen and Fish Traders Association secretary Shyamsundar Das: “Easterly wind and rain are helping the hilsa reach rivers. We hope we can recoup our losses of the last few months.”
Das said while it was too early to speculate on hilsa trade numbers this year, they would be underwhelming even though the fish is being sold in markets for anywhere between Rs 800 and Rs 2,000 per kilo, depending on size.
“These premium prices are not enough to recoup our losses in fuel and maintenance (for fishing trawlers) and maintenance that we suffered since June,” Maity explained.
Assistant director of fisheries (East Midnapore) Surajit Bag held out hope for “higher volume” of hilsa catch during the rest of August. “Weather patterns seem to be changing for the better,” Bag said.
Diehard hilsa fans are already celebrating. Digha resident Gourishankar Bijoli on Monday bought the hilsa for “nearly Rs 2,000 a kilo”. “I could not resist splurging on the fish for my family,” he said.