River Fish: From the rivers to your doorstep

Farzana Akhter’s brand ‘River Fish’ currently offers more than 80 varieties of local fish from rivers and haors. Photo: Mehedi Hasan

After working as a journalist for almost a decade, Farzana Akhter decided to take a leap of faith and become an entrepreneur. Her brand 'River Fish' currently offers more than 80 varieties of local fish from rivers and haors (wetlands), generating a monthly sale of around Tk1 crore, sometimes more. 

She started the business in 2019 with a capital of only Tk10,000. Now, Farzana and her husband run a team of more than 30 people at the River Fish office in Dhaka.  

"You have to struggle as a woman no matter which socioeconomic class you belong to, so I don't really want to focus on my struggles as a female entrepreneur," she said during a recent interview with The Business Standard.

She wanted to do something on her own, something within her comfort zone, and something that would build her own identity.

"Initially, I tried to sell jamdani sarees, but I was still working as a news reporter so it was difficult to manage both. Moreover, I felt the need to sell something that people needed all the time and not something like a jamdani saree which people only bought occasionally." 

Farzana has worked in some of the top television channels in the country and it was through an office assignment that she got to learn about rivers and the fisher folk. 

"There was a time when I had to report on the country's rivers. And I was drawn to riverine life, how the fisher folk lived and how the rivers provided for them. I wanted to do something related to the rivers. 

Moreover, I wanted to sell fish that grew in natural habitats — not the farmed ones."  

In Bangladesh, haors are the main hubs for organically grown fish. Many fish varieties from rivers have become extinct.  

Farzana received a lot of support from the fisher folk communities."When I would visit the ghats and warehouses, they were eager to teach me because I was new to the profession and they wanted to help me all the time." She still faces some gender-based issues as an entrepreneur on the F-commerce platform but she never has the time to pay attention, "I am too busy running the business."

River Fish currently sources fish from 10-12 different places across the country including haor areas such as Kishoreganj, Sunamganj and Netrokona. They also get fish from Chandpur, Shariatpur, Barguna, Bagerhat, Satkhira and a few places near Dhaka such as Narayanganj and Sonargaon.  

"We try to bring in fish that were once popular but are now absent in local fish markets or supershops. For example, black shrimps from the Sunamganj haor, and 'boali pabda' from Kaptai Lake. The latter is only found in Kaptai Lake. 

During the season, we try to get hold of 'modhu pabda' from haors, a fish which is almost extinct," said Farzana.

River Fish also tries to promote lesser-known fishes. "Although the silver pomfrets are more popular, we saw that the black variety (kalo chada) is also quite tasty. Last season, we sold a lot of it." 

Farzana and her husband run a team of more than 30 people at the River Fish office in Dhaka. Photo: Mehedi Hasan

The office in Badda is where the huge stock of fish arrives. Here, they are cleaned, scaled, cut and packaged. Customers can get the items as a whole or in pieces. 

Deboning local fish varieties is difficult and no one asks for it, but sea fish such as coral and pomfret can be deboned.  

"We deliver all over Bangladesh, it can be any village at the upazila level. Our customers have full right to reject the delivery at the doorstep. Not only that, customers in Dhaka have seven days to return the fish, even if they have stored them in the refrigerator," Farzana explained. 

River Fish is not just limited to F-commerce, they also have a website of the same name where most orders come in. 

The customer base includes many expatriates who regularly send fish to their loved ones in Bangladesh. "We have many customers from the United States New York to be precise, as well as the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and even the Middle East."

Prices at River Fish range from Tk650-Tk3,000 per kilo. Other than fish, they also sell local duck, chicken and some varieties of sea fish. But 'chhoto machh' or a mix of small fish such as batashi and kajoli are always in demand. 

"Customers sometimes say we are a bit pricey, but you have to understand that the profit margin from selling fish is not very high. Moreover, due to inflation, almost everything has become more expensive. Even two years ago, we sold batashi fish at Tk650-700 taka per kilo, and now we have to buy them at Tk1,200 to Tk1,300," said Farzana. 

Learning the ropes

Farzana dedicated an entire year to learning the ropes of selling fish before River Fish began operating in full swing. 

Farzana dedicated an entire year to learning the ropes of selling fish before River Fish began operating in full swing. Photo: Mehedi Hasan

"I am from Nangalkot in Cumilla where there are no rivers, only ponds. So, I knew I had to learn about river fish before I could sell them. I roamed the warehouses, stayed in fishing villages, rode boats with the fisher folk who taught me the names of the fish and the seasons they are available in." 

She also learned how to keep the fish fresh for longer using natural techniques as well as about transporting them to Dhaka from the ghats and other large cities and the packaging techniques for perishable items. 

"We usually think fish begin to decompose from the belly but that is not the case really. The decomposition actually starts from the head. Moreover, freshly caught fish will have a beautiful sheen that the stale ones won't." 

Sourcing the freshest fish

River Fish buys their products from spot auctions or first auctions, which means as soon as the boats carrying the fish reach the ghats or river banks, their contact person buys those. 

The contact persons are usually from the fisher folk communities but they are also familiar with using technology.  

"As soon as the fish reach the ghat, they take pictures, videos etc and send them to us. And all these happen within 5-10 minutes and very early in the morning before sunrise. If we miss it for any reason, we won't be able to buy any fish that day. We can, but from second-hand sellers and that is much more expensive," said Farzana. 

However, she told us that there are some ghats where the fish arrive late, such as the 'Ilish Mokam' at Chandpur Ghat where the fish is brought in at 10am. Other products sold before that time are actually leftovers from the previous day. 

Fighting gender norms

Farzana remembers some of the phone calls that she used to receive from customers during the early days of River Fish. "One person told me, 'Maiya abar jailla (fisher) hoy kemne! (How can a woman become a fisher?)' The person went on to tell me that I should rather sell sarees, cosmetics etc."

Surprisingly, Farzana received a lot of support from the fisher folk communities. "When I would visit the ghats and warehouses, they were eager to teach me because I was new to the profession and they wanted to help me all the time." 

She still faces some issues but they do not bother her at all, as she shared with us. 

"When I do live videos on Facebook, I receive many comments on how I should dress etc. But I never have the time to pay attention to them, I am too busy running the business."  

The cutting team at River Fish is all women with a team member who is nearly 80 years old. Some of them were working as house helps before and now have a steady income of as much as Tk25,000 every month. 

Pointing at the elderly worker whom everyone calls 'nani,' Farzana said that she has been working here from the very beginning and refuses to take any help from her family members. Her daughter also works here and sometimes the granddaughters come to help them out too.