'King hilsa' from Meghna fetches Tk 8,500 at auction in Bhola

A two-kilogram 'Raja Hilsa' caught in the Meghna River in Monpura upazila of Bhola district was sold for Tk8,500 at an auction today (24 August), drawing attention at the local fish landing centre.

Fisherman Kiron Majhi brought the unusually large hilsa to Bachchu Chowdhury wholesale fish market at Ramnawaz Fish Ghat around 11:30am for auction.

Fish trader Firoz eventually bought the fish for Tk8,500 after competing with several other traders at the auction.

Kiron said he caught the large hilsa while casting his net in the Meghna earlier in the day.

The fish was caught along with several smaller hilsa and was later brought to the fish market for sale.

Firoz said he plans to send the fish to Dhaka by launch and sell it at Karwan Bazar, hoping to get a higher price there.

The two-kilogram fish attracted considerable interest among traders because large-sized hilsa have become relatively scarce in the Meghna in recent days.

Joyanta Kumar Apu, upazila fisheries officer, said the river is currently seeing a shortage of hilsa, making the catch of such a large fish particularly notable.

He expressed hope that more large hilsa would be caught in the Meghna if rainfall increases in the coming days.

The catch has also raised hopes among local fishermen and traders that improved weather and increased rainfall could lead to a better hilsa season ahead.