Natural Fish Breeding Center: Carp (Rui, Katla, Mrigel and Kalibaush) mother fish have laid eggs in the Halda River in Chittagong. The mother fish laid eggs at 8-10 places in the river at around 2 am on Thursday. Egg collectors said that the water level in the river is 5-7 feet higher than normal, which is hampering the collection of eggs.
Hundreds of boats have been collecting eggs in the Halda River at night. The collectors have collected 2 to 5 buckets of eggs in each boat. Earlier, on Thursday afternoon and Monday night, sample eggs were seen at multiple places in the river. Even then, some of the collectors had reported receiving 50 to 100 grams of eggs.
Muhammad Shafi, an egg collector from Madarsha village in Hathazari, told Prothom Alo that he collected eggs in eight boats on the river on Thursday night. He got a total of 13 buckets of eggs during that time. Md. Kamal, a senior egg collector from Gardowara village, said that he collected 35 buckets of eggs in 13 boats. The eggs are being stored in the hatchery.
Since the beginning of April, the full breeding season has begun, egg collectors have been waiting in the river. When there is heavy rain with thunder and lightning, the mother fish start laying eggs in full swing in the river during the high tide or low tide. For a few days, favorable conditions for egg laying have been created. In this, the administration and collectors have made various preparations to hatch the fry in four government hatcheries and more than a hundred earthen wells in two upazilas.
Roshangir Alam, an egg collector from Raojan, said that 400 to 500 boats were waiting in the river to catch eggs. After the eggs were released at night, everyone started collecting eggs in a festive atmosphere. However, the water in the river rose by 5 to 7 feet, disrupting the collection of eggs.
Raozan Upazila Senior Fisheries Officer Muhammad Alamgir Hossain said, “The collectors have also received 5 to 7 buckets of eggs in some boats. These eggs are being stored in hatcheries. The total amount of eggs collected will be calculated later.”
According to the data of the Halda Research and Laboratory of Chittagong University and the Department of Fisheries, 1,660 kg of eggs were collected in the Halda River in 2024. Earlier, in 2023, the amount of fertilized fish eggs collected was about 14,664 kg. In 2022, 7,200 kg were collected. In 2021, it was 8,500 kg. However, in 2020, the amount of eggs collected in the river was 25,500 kg, which is the highest in the last 14 years.
Halda researcher and professor of Zoology at Chittagong University, Manjurul Kibria, told Prothom Alo that about 600 people in 350 to 400 boats have collected eggs. The water in the river is now close to the danger level, meaning it is now 5 to 6 feet higher than the normal tide. In such a situation, collectors face difficulties while collecting eggs.
Source: Prothom Alo
