Chalan Beel: scanty fish supply disappoints fishermen

“Earlier, we could easily catch fish from Chalan Beel worth around Tk 2-3 thousand in a day during October-November when the water level comes down. Now, we are having hardly enough fish to earn Tk 1,000.”
Fanindranath Haldar, a fisherman from Chinavatkur area of Chalan Beel region in Pabna, lamented while talking to this correspondent recently.
Several other local fishermen expressed similar disappointment as they have been struggling to earn livelihood due to scanty fish supply in the wetland this year.
Chalan Beel is the biggest source of freshwater fish varieties in the country’s northern region.
Swapon Kumar Haldar, president of a fishermen’s association in Bishwanathpur under Pabna’s Chatmohar upazila, said they had taken lease of 108 acres of Chalan Beel for fishing spending Tk 20 lakh for three years, but are not getting enough fish this year.
“A total of 22 fishermen of our organisation are hardly able to catch 1.5 maunds of fish in a day, less than half of what we used to get even last year,” he added.
Ranjit Chandra Haldar, another local fisherman, said, “The fresh waters of monsoon had entered Chalan Beel like every year, but this time the water did not stay even a month. This in turn lowered the wetland’s fish reserve.”
Md Abdul Matin, a senior fisheries officer in Chatmohar upazila, explained the scenario.
“Usually, the monsoon waters stay for around three months in Chalan Beel before the level comes down in winter. During this time, the fish fries develop to maturity and become ready for harvest. This year, the water did not stay long enough, prompting the fish to move to deeper water or migrate to rivers connecting the wetland. As such, the fish reserve has decreased significantly,” he said.
“In 2023, fishermen caught a total of 4,085 tonnes of fish from the different waterbodies in Chalan Beel area. This year, the harvest is likely to be much less. We will calculate the total figure by the year’s end,” he added.
Visiting the Chalan Beel area recently, this correspondent observed that most fishermen were preparing to set up enclosures within the vast waterbody to catch more fish.
“The water level has been coming down rapidly, so we have to set enclosures within the leased area to harvest enough fish,” Swapon said.
Meanwhile, like every year, dozens of temporary fish markets have sprung up across Chatmohar upazila where fishermen were seen selling their harvest.
However, preparation for dry fish production was yet to begin.
“Every year, fish caught in excess are sold by fishermen for dry fish production in Mannannagar area of Chalan Beel. This year, there is hardly enough supply of fish to meet local market demand, let alone surplus for dry fish production,” said Md Manik Hossain, a local fish trader.