Hilsa in Sylhet’s Surma River!

Bangladesh’s national fish Hilsa, thought to be found only in southern rivers of the country and the Bay of Bengal, was caught from the Surma River on Sunday to the surprise of many.

But it is not the presence of the fish in the river that was surprising, it is fish’s size. Fishermen caught six Hilsa in the afternoon and one of them weighed more than 2kg.

“We haven’t caught Hilsa of this size before from Surma,” said Hamid Uddin, the fisherman.

Dwijraj Barman, Sylhet Sadar Upazila fisheries officer, said the Hilsa caught in Surma is not the kind generally found in sea but it is of a local species.

Hilsa had previously been caught in Chengerkhal River in the district. In the last monsoon, fishermen in Hakaluki haor caught plenty of Hilsa. The fish is sometimes netted by fishermen in the Surma River too.

The government imposed a 22-day ban on catching, selling, storing and transporting Hilsa from on October 9 to 31 to ensure safe spawning of the national fish during its peak breeding period.