Virus diseases which attacked shrimp farms in Mongla and Rampal upazilas in the district more than two months ago has now taken an epidemic form and no step has taken yet to solve the problem.
As a result, shrimps cultivated in those two upazilas are dying every day causing heavy loss to the cultivators . On the other hand, prices of shrimps are abnormally low in the exporting markets.
People of Mongla Upazila, one of the saline areas in the district have been cultivating shrimps in their paddy lands in stead of paddy for the last three decades for more than 8 months in a year.
According to a statistics, shrimps are now being cultivated on as many as 10 thousand 8 hundred 58 hectors cultivable lands out total 12 thousand 5 hundred cultivable lands in the Upazila. The total numbers of shrimp farms, both big and small, is as many as 5 thousand 5 hundred in the Upazila. On the other hand, shrimps are cultivated on some 14 thousand 8 hundred 81 hectares of cultivable lands in the adjacent Rampal Upazila where the number of shrimp farms is 4 thousand 8 hundred 65.
A number of shrimp cultivators and shrimp farm traders of Chila, Sonailtala, Chandpai, Andharia, Burburia and Joykhan villages under Mongla Upazila disclosed to the newsmen, we have released the shrimp fires in our shrimp farms in the month of February.
Shrimps began to die of various diseases from the month of April. One of the major diseases is white spot. It appears on the body of the shrimps and consequently shrimps become week, their colour becomes reddish and after a few days they die.
Huge quantities of dead shrimps are found by the side of the embankments of the shrimp farms everyday.
Only a small quantity shrimps are found alive. But they are very weak. According to our previous experience, huge quantity of shrimps are normally caught on the occasion of the new moon but at present most of the shrimp farms are now without shrimps.
Amzad Shikdar, a shrimp farm trader of village Perikhali under Rampal Upazila told the newsmen that I had cultivated shrimps in my fish farm on about 30 acres of lands at a cost of Tk.12 lakh in the current year. It was scheduled to get return more than 50 per cent of his investment by this time. But practically I have not got return even Tk.1 lakh as the sale proceed (of shrimps). He further added, fish traders are now purchasing per kg standard sized shrimps at Tk.250.00 to Tk.300.00 as against of Tk.750.00 to Tk.800.00 during the corresponding period in the last year. The fate of other shrimps cultivators or shrimp farm traders is not better than me.
A number of shrimp cultivators and owners of shrimp farms of Mongla Upazila complained, some dishonest owners of shrimp depots of Mongla with the collaboration of shrimp and other frozen food exporters of Khulna and other places of the country are not paying the arrear of shrimps to the shrimp producers and farm traders in the plea of low price of the commodity.
On the other hand, they are forcing the shrimp producers and shrimp farm traders to sell the shrimps to them at low price. More than 20 shrimp producers of Mongla told the newsmen, Govt. is earning crores of foreign currencies through the export of shrimps but the Govt. is doing nothing in order to redress and minimize the sufferings of the shrimp producers.
They also complained, Upazila fishery department does not take any step to create awareness among the shrimp producers.
