Native fish species face extinction in Netrakona water bodies

Many native species of fish are facing extinction in the natural water bodies of Netrakona day by day due to various reasons including adverse impact of climate change.
People of the district, which was once popularly known as ‘grain vowel and fish resourceful area’ of the country, are now facing an acute shortage of the native fish species.
According to local people including fishermen, the native fishes were found in abundance in the rivers including Sumeswari, Kongso and Dhono and in various haors, canals, beels and other natural water bodies of the district.
All the water bodies were full of different varieties of the fishes like Mahasoal, Ruhi, Katla, Chitol, Khoi, Sorputi, Gozer, Ayir, Bowal, Taki, Gulsey, Telapia, Baim, Vedory, Kholsey, Kaikkia and Tengra in the past.
These fishes, which were abundantly available in the natural water bodies particularly in the down-stream areas in the district, were even used to be supplied to many palaces of the country including Dhaka after fulfilling the needs of the district.
Even, adequate quantities of various species of the fishes remained surplus and those were stored after drying.
Among the fishes, Mohasoal which was easily available in the hilly river Sumeswari at Durgapur upazila and another hilly river Kongso at Kalmakanda upazila was very much tasteful.
But, in course of time, the scenario changed and the district lost its past glory as a ‘fish-rich’ area as all the traditional fishes including Mohasoal have now disappeared from the open water bodies.
Talking to the news agency, over a dozen of octogenarian fishermen and local people of the district said that during the seventies and eighties, they could catch many fishes by casting a simple net from the river Dhono, Kongso, Mogra and different haors, beels, canals and other natural water bodies.
‘Even we could catch many fishes easily by putting a branch of tree in any corner of any river, haor, canal and beel,’ they said.
But, nowadays, not a single Ayir, Gazer, Kholsey, telapia, vedory, Chitol and other traditional fishes would be found easily in the rivers, canals and other natural water bodies by putting a branch of tree or casting a simple net, they regretted.
Some officials of the District Fishery Department acknowledging the fact said that production of native fishes in the natural water bodies had come down due to many reasons including the unprecedented fall in water level in the rivers, haors, canals, beels and other water bodies which remained almost dry due to inadequate rainfall in the last monsoon following adverse impact of climate change.
District fishery officer Ranajit Kumar Paul said that the present government had already chalked out a special programme styled ‘pisciculture and fish management programme in the haor areas’ for increasing production of the native fishes in the natural water bodies of the down-stream areas in the country.

Courtesy of BSS via NewAgebd