The fishermen complain that the nearby estuary of Padma and Meghna rivers is bereft of Hilsha. All the fish seen at the trading hub is captured at different points of the deep sea, not at the Padma-Meghna estuary. There is hardly any Hilsa left in the rivers of Padma and Meghna, said Shabe Barat, general secretary of Chandpur Matsya Banik Samity, an association of fish traders. He holds out hope that more Hilsa would be caught in the estuary soon again. Hilsa fishing at the sea resumed after a 65-day ban, but hardly any fish was caught in the nets of the local fishermen. Increased siltation in the rivers has reduced the yield of Hilsa, said Abdul Gafur, a fish trader. Some Hilsas are caught when the rivers have a better water flow at the end of the season, he said. Hilsa is found in the rivers in Chandpur during winter, but those are the very small ones called Jatka, said Gafur Jamadar. Hilsas from the coast and from the rivers have a big difference in prices. A Hilsa from the sea weighing one kg is sold for Tk 700-800 per kg, while the one from Chandpur rivers is sold for Tk 1,000 to Tk 1,100 per kg during the season. Before the Eid, a maund (37.32 kg) of Hilsa with each fish weighing up to 700 grams was sold for Tk 25,000, while the same quantity from Chandpur rivers was sold for Tk 38,000. Many customers from across the country visiting the market to buy Chandpur hilsa’ at a lower price are returning home empty-handed — dejected. Those Hilsas weighing a kg that I used to buy for Tk 800-900 are now sold for Tk 1,000-1,200, said Emdadul Hasan, a local resident. It is expensive but the Hilsa from the river Padma tastes much better than those from the sea. But I failed to get some, said Mustafa Amir who travelled all the way to Chandpur from Dhaka. The Harina pier, another busy place for fish, is situated 6km away from central Chandpur where local fishermen sell their catch. In the past years, they were seen coming with trawlers filled with Hilsas. This year, scenes are dismal: their empty trawlers are seen stranded at the pier. Hossain Ali came back from the river with only six medium-sized Hilsas, a few days prior to the Eid day.