Alam Sarowar Tito, Kishoreganj :
Public transport is closed across the country to prevent the transmission of the COVID-19. In this situation, due to low prices, workers and transportation crisis, the production of pollen in the hatcheries of Kishoreganj has been severely disrupted.
Sales have dropped . Almost 11 fish hatcheries are closed. Hatchery owners have claimed that they are facing financial loss of Tk one crore every week due to declining sales in these hatcheries.
Hatchery Owners said that the season of pollen fry production is from March to August. Pollen fry supplies 10 percent of the country’s total demand from Kishoreganj. The target for the current year is to produce 6,000 kg of pollen. But due to the Virus, the production in the hatchery will decrease in the full season.
People think that the target will not be met this year. The District Fisheries Office of Kishoreganj is also playing an important role in the production of pollen fry. Pollen fry is being produced in 11 hatcheries of the district. Till April this year, 2,970 kg of pollen fry has been produced. Hatcheries in Kishoreganj produce fish fry like Rui, Katla, Mrigel, Silver Carp, Grass Carp, Bighead, Thai Sarputi, Mirror Carp, Chital, Ayr, Tilapia, Monosex Tilapia, Shing, Kai, Thai Kai, Pangash etc. 5-6 lakh people of the district make a living through fish production, farming and related occupations.
Agrani Fish & Hatchery (P) Limited Managing Director(MD) Advocate Md. Shajahan told the New Nation that fish companies are facing huge financial losses due to the coronavirus.
Where in Kishoreganj district, about 5000-6000 kg carp fry is produced every year, it is not possible to produce 20 percent of the total production this year.
This lockdown imposed by the government and the workers are reluctant to work for the sake of life. Hatchery production is also being hampered by high prices of raw materials Pituitary Gland used in fish production.
He also said it has become very difficult to sell as much as possible in different parts of the country. In this case, Agriculturist Ripon Kumar Pall, the District Fisheries Officer of Kishoreganj told the New Nation that “Coronavirus has affected our fisheries sector.” This will have an impact on the country’s market as pollen fry production declines. So we have asked the hatchery owners to produce pollen fry in compliance with social distance.
