Hilsa export to India: Bangladesh earned $13.6m this year so far

[BananaRepublicUK]

Actually, Bd malnutrition is despite fish eating not because of it. You can blame malnutrition on excessive carb consumption due to lack of affordable alternatives.
Besides deep sea fishing, we also do need to invest a lot more in dairy and meat production at scale.

Yep!

Most kids don’t consume any cheese even amongst the middle class. Which is staggering!

And eating rice THREE times a day is just bizarre.

 

[SecularNationalist]

Hilsa fish has special omega fatty acids that have a buttery flavor that Bengalis like. It is like Salmon which lives in the sea but returns to the Padma/Meghna river tributaries to spawn. The fish when harvested from rivers has lively qualities and keeps for longer than other fish when iced.

Personally, I am ambivalent about the taste and like it well fried and carefully de-boned (I let the women in the household do it, in exchange for other favors). The fish row (eggs) are also good eating when fried.

Hilsa fish has very fine bones which can get stuck in your throat. This is a bad predicament.

The only few types of fish I will eat are Hilsa and Silver Pomfret (both fried) and of course in the US Norwegian or Northwest Salmon and Alaska Halibut filets (also breaded/fried). Pomfret has very few bones and the US market Salmon filets come completely de-boned. Salmon is almost like other dense meat like Chicken.

Pakistani folks or even Indian Northerners aren't used to fish in their diet. For them, this fish-craze is hard to understand.

But Fish curry is a Bengali thing for a reason. Omega fatty acids are Health-wise an excellent source of protein and enriches intellectual activity. It is well-proven medically.



Some people like it with Khhichdi in Bangladesh (fried variety). Steamed Hilsa with Mustard sauce is also a Kolkata favorite.

View attachment 885548

Ok a little google search helped me.
I actually once ate this fish in Hyderabad sindh Pakistan when I was a little boy. We call it "palla" fish here. Ours come from the indus river. It had a good taste. People ate it's eggs as well I remember. It was full of needles though.
Never fry fish from a nutritional point of view. When you fry you lose all nutrients. The best way to cook fish is too to make a fish curry and let it get cooked in it's steam on a slow flame. That's the way I cook it personally and that's how you get a delicious fish with all the nutrients it has to offer.
Fish is the only meat(some other seafoods as well) that has only benefits. That's why I cook it myself for me and my old mother as it's a good thing for old people.

 

[Maula Jatt]

Bangladeshis eat way too much fish. Need to eat more meat and wheat and less rice and fish.

Explains the height differentials.

Bangladeshi boys are 5 foot four inches.

It’s a tragedy.



Brilliant post.

We are missing out on 2-3 billions worth of exports as well.

Fish is actually very good for your health - it's not a bad thing, just increase fish production

Pakistani (minus kashmiris - they love their rice and we have jokes about their rice eating habits) and northwestern Indians eat more wheat/bread cause that's the kinda soil we have, others in south Asia eat more rice than wheat while coastal regions including Bangladesh eat more fish

 

[BananaRepublicUK]

Fish is actually very good for your health - it's not a bad thing, just increase fish production

Pakistani (minus kashmiris - they love their rice and we have jokes about their rice eating habits) and northwestern Indians eat more wheat/bread cause that's the kinda soil we have, others in south Asia eat more rice than wheat while coastal regions including Bangladesh eat more fish

Fish is very good for the over 30s - no trans fat and zero cholesterol.

But kids need meat and dairy for growth.

We just need to stop feeding kids too much fish.

 

[DF41]

I love the Hilsa fish.

I was working as advisor and lived in Bangla Desh for a couple of months in 2015 and was introduced to Hilsa fish, curried and fried.

Absolutely delicious, when prepared by Bangladeshi chefs.

I missed that very much and one day found that to be on sale in Bangladeshi grocery in Singapore and bought the hilsa fish planning to cook that myself.

The fish , cooked by me, so ghastly that I threw away the other half.

 

[mulj]

@mulj i nul pimpam .. good going, you !

pajeet, go shit somewhere else.

 

[JohnyD]

i have tried hilsa, taste is ok but i think its highly over priced and there are plenty of better options available in India in that price range

 

[cybertron]

Hilsa fish has special omega fatty acids that have a buttery flavor that Bengalis like. It is like Salmon which lives in the sea but returns to the Padma/Meghna river tributaries to spawn. The fish when harvested from rivers has lively qualities and keeps for longer than other fish when iced.

Personally, I am ambivalent about the taste and like it well fried and carefully de-boned (I let the women in the household do it, in exchange for other favors). The fish row (eggs) are also good eating when fried.

Hilsa fish has very fine bones which can get stuck in your throat. This is a bad predicament.

The only few types of fish I will eat are Hilsa and Silver Pomfret (both fried) and of course in the US Norwegian or Northwest Salmon and Alaska Halibut filets (also breaded/fried). Pomfret has very few bones and the US market Salmon filets come completely de-boned. Salmon is almost like other dense meat like Chicken.

Pakistani folks or even Indian Northerners aren't used to fish in their diet. For them, this fish-craze is hard to understand.

But Fish curry is a Bengali thing for a reason. Omega fatty acids are Health-wise an excellent source of protein and enriches intellectual activity. It is well-proven medically.



Some people like it with Khhichdi in Bangladesh (fried variety). Steamed Hilsa with Mustard sauce is also a Kolkata favorite.

View attachment 885548

Bengalis and Mallus (me being one) are big on fish in their daily diet and it’s just one among many things we have in common. I have been working with Bengalis more often over the past decade than any other from subcontinent and the only thing I dislike about Bengali food is the use of potato in almost every other dish!

I hadn’t had Illish until few years back, and it blew me with the flavors. The best one I had was made with a base of mustard paste.

In US, apart from the fishes you just mentioned ( standard salmon and pomfret) - I tried milk fish recently and it turned out pretty good - very bony like illish though - try it.

 

[Bilal9]

Bengalis and Mallus (me being one) are big on fish in their daily diet and it’s just one among many things we have in common. I have been working with Bengalis more often over the past decade than any other from subcontinent and the only thing I dislike about Bengali food is the use of potato in almost every other dish!

I hadn’t had Illish until few years back, and it blew me with the flavors. The best one I had was made with a base of mustard paste.

In US, apart from the fishes you just mentioned ( standard salmon and pomfret) - I tried milk fish recently and it turned out pretty good - very bony like illish though - try it.

Potato is typically used in North Indian cuisine to cut/counteract the use of excessive spices/oil added in curry and moderate the taste. Unless of course yogurt is used for that purpose (shahi Korma).

Potato is also a cheap ingredient. Way cheaper than most proteins and therefore used extensively by Northern vegetarian folks. Bengali Muslims will only add potatoes to Chicken or Beef curry to moderate the spicyness and oil. Or maybe to a bhajee item sparingly. This is only because potatoes are grown extensively in North India and Bangladesh.

Use of Potato (and Tomato) is new in the history of Bengali cuisine, only since the Portuguese/Spanish arrived on our shores as traders in the 17th century who brought these as new crops to cultivate. It is a new world item and got introduced with adoption of many "foreign" cuisines in East Bengal .

Columbus (and Italians) Never Ate Tomatoes

Find out why.

www.tasteofhome.com

I love the Hilsa fish.

I was working as advisor and lived in Bangla Desh for a couple of months in 2015 and was introduced to Hilsa fish, curried and fried.

Absolutely delicious, when prepared by Bangladeshi chefs.

I missed that very much and one day found that to be on sale in Bangladeshi grocery in Singapore and bought the hilsa fish planning to cook that myself.

The fish , cooked by me, so ghastly that I threw away the other half.

If you need Bangladeshi cuisine skills, you need to maybe come back and get trained. Plenty of new engg. projects going on with CREC and CMBEC. Or watch YouTube.

 

[bluesky]

We should really be pusuing large scale fishing very deep in Bay of Bengal (closer to international waters) - an unlimited source of healthy, lean protein. While people in Bd no longer starve to death, malnutrition is rampant among the poor and even lower middle class due to unaffordability of highly nutritous food. The economies of scale associated with large scale deep sea trawling can kill malnutrition overnight while also open up a new major avenue for export.

Our present fishing industry is confined to near the coast due to lack of high endurance fishing trawlers that can spend weeks out at far ends of the Bay.

Please read the below article to understand the level of naivity prevalent among both public and private sector stakeholders on this issue.

We need Walton to intervene in yet another industrial sector to bust stupidity and transform it into a money maker.

====/=/====================

New maritime boundary yet to bring fishing benefits​

Hasan Al Javed
19 Aug 2021 00:00:00 | Update: 19 Aug 2021 00:04:59

Despite being awarded an additional 19,467 square kilometres of maritime area in 2014, Bangladesh is far behind in utilising the full potential of its marine resources due to a lack of investment and the absence of modern fishing vessels.
Although fish production has increased slightly over the years, experts say Bangladesh currently uses roughly seven per cent of its entire maritime area when it comes to fishing at sea.

In 2014, The International Tribunal for the Law of the Seas (ITLOS), in a verdict, gave Bangladesh the sovereign rights of a total of 1,18,813 sqkm territorial sea, 200 nautical miles (NM) of exclusive economic zone and all kinds of animal and non-animal resources under the continental shelf.
With the additional maritime area, Bangladesh found a maximum depth of 2,200 metres at the edge of its maritime boundary. However, traditional oceanic industrial fishing trawlers in the country can reach a maximum depth of only 130 meters.
Talking to The Business Post, Bangladesh Marine Fisheries Association (BMFA), the trade body representing fish and shrimp harvesting companies in the Bay of Bengal, said lack of surveying and available data on marine resources have been limiting the capacity of the country’s deep-sea fishing sector.

‘‘There is no data on fishing capacity or risk assessment areas in the deep sea, and that is why fishing vessels do not cross the government predefined 1,7000 sqkm area or 130 metres in depth,” said BMFA President Nurul Qayyum Khan.
“If we have no data from the government regarding marine resources present at deep sea, then why we will make more investments in procuring bigger or modern vessels?’’ he questioned.
“All fishing vessels sit idle at the docks for almost 90 days as the government imposes bans on fishing to help preserve the fish stock and boost breeding activities. It’s a great opportunity for us that Bangladesh has acquired more maritime area, now it is for the government to decide in which areas we can fish,” BMFA General Secretary Moshiur Rahman Chowdhury told The Business Post.
Similarly, fishing vessel owners blamed the failure of authorities concerned in conducting ground fishing capacity surveys at deep-sea for not being able to use the vast resource to its maximum.
“Even the ocean survey ship of the fisheries ministry cannot reach the deep sea due to its limited distance capacity. That’s why marine fish production has increased slightly despite the vast opportunity,” a fishing vessel owner said.
Marine fish experts say Bangladeshi industrial fisheries trawler can catch fishes in three areas of Bay of Bengal – swatch of no ground at Dublar Char of Bagerhat, middle ground at Barguna and South passages of Cox’s Bazar with an average of 300 metres in depth.
According to the Department of Fisheries, in FY2019-20, marine fish production was 6,89,105 metric tonnes; 6,59,911MT in FY2018-19; 6,54,687MT in FY2017-18; 6,37,476MT in FY2016-17; 6,26,528MT in FY2015-16; 5,99,846MT in FY2014-15; 5,95,385MT in FY2013-14; and 5,88,988MT in FY2012-13.
On the other hand, Bangladesh has already established itself as one of the top freshwater fish producers in the world.
However, the slow growth in marine fish production comes when the government has emphasised achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs) by creating a blue economy.
Bangladesh has 267 industrial boats that can monitor fish reserves digitally with a maximum netting range of five kilometres.
Besides, 5,000 artisanal fishing boats (small and medium wooden boats) are licensed under the Department of Fisheries in Bangladesh, along with 68,000 mechanised and non-mechanised marine boats with a maximum range of 10-15 metre depth.
Md Sharif Uddin, chief scientific officer of Marine Fisheries Survey Management Unit of the Department of Fisheries, said, “Our industrial trawlers are not capable of entering the deep sea, but Thai and Indonesian vessels are catching fish, including tuna, across their entire maritime area without any baseline survey. They mainly depend on experienced sailors and fishing crew for this.”

‘‘These licences were given to boat owners on a condition that they cannot catch fish within 40 metres depth. However, as these fishing boats get sufficient fish near the coast, they are less interested in buying modern boats using the permits,” Rear Admiral (retd) Md Khurshed Alam, secretary at the Maritime Affairs Unit of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told The Business Post.
He also mentioned that as large modern ships have the latest technologies to detect fish shoals, they do not need additional surveys to venture into the deep sea. “This is just an excuse for them,” he added.
Rownak Mahmud, secretary of the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, said the fisheries department had taken a pilot project to buy a modern vessel to catch tuna to motivate private fisheries companies to venture further into the deep sea.
Bay of Bengal filled with marine riches
Experts say Bangladesh’s warm climate, abundant annual rainfall and nutrients from the land enable a rich and highly productive environment in its maritime area in the Bay of Bengal.
Bangladesh ocean territory has a high stock of hilsa, shrimp, prawn, sardine, bombay duck, Indian salmon, foli chanda, jewfish, sea catfish, sharks, and other marine invertebrates such as squids.
Shrimps are mainly exported to Japan, while eel and squid go to China. An estimated 2,70,000 households are directly or indirectly dependent on the marine fishery.
Dr Roksana Jahan, assistant professor and chairman of the Department of Marine Fisheries and Oceanography at Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, said, “Bangladesh has established itself as one of the top freshwater fish producers in the world. We are now waiting for the same for marine fishing. To achieve this, both the government and the private sector need to work together.”
Prices of fishing boats
Industry insiders say an industrial steel-body fridgeder fishing trawler made by Denmark is one of the world’s best but is very costly.
Bangladeshi fishers use vessels made in Thailand, Taiwan and South Korea.
Thailand-made industrial fishing trawler costs around Tk 25-30 crore, Taiwan-made Tk 35-38 crore, Korean-made Tk 35-40 crore.
Western marine shipyard company of Bangladesh also builds industrial fishing trawlers, which can carry 300-500 tonnes of fish and produces ice on the boat, fishes are kept cool at minus 18 degrees Celsius. It usually stays in the sea for around one month with 45-50 crews.
The wooden boat used for sea fishing costs between Tk 20 lakh and Tk 1.5 crore, which can carry 50-80 tonnes, and stay at sea for at least 15 days while carrying ice from factories.

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I have read your opinion. But, do you know that people living near the sea belt would eat fish harvested in the sea except Hilsha and Prawn?

People in other areas cannot really appreciate the taste of sea food and even dry fish/ shut ki. I am talking about the past tradition and really do not know about the present trend.

I personally have eaten sea fishes in curry while in Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar. Not exactly like river fishes. However, I also think people become accustomed gradually.

 

[Bilal9]

Fish is actually very good for your health - it's not a bad thing, just increase fish production

Pakistani (minus kashmiris - they love their rice and we have jokes about their rice eating habits) and northwestern Indians eat more wheat/bread cause that's the kinda soil we have, others in south Asia eat more rice than wheat while coastal regions including Bangladesh eat more fish

As long as you are abiding by Halal precepts, no issue with consuming different things.

Bangladeshi do not like Sea Fish though (other than migratory Hilsa caught from rivers). They like freshwater fish from larger rivers.

Bangladeshis (especially urban folks) also eat plenty of chapati and Roti during say breakfast and also during Suhoor and Iftaar.

Roti/omelettes and Roti with fresh soji-ka-halwa used to be a home breakfast staple in all parts of the country, but nowadays you have all kinds of restaurant things like burritos and tacos and burgers which younger people are used to.

 

[Destranator]

I have read your opinion. But, do you know that people living near the sea belt would eat fish harvested in the sea except Hilsha and Prawn?

People in other areas cannot really appreciate the taste of sea food and even dry fish/ shut ki. I am talking about the past tradition and really do not know about the present trend.

I personally have eaten sea fishes in curry while in Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar. Not exactly like river fishes. However, I also think people become accustomed gradually.

We need to take off our lenses of wealth and privilege, where we are picky eaters, and think of the poor who often survive on just rice and lentil. They will appreciate a cheap and tasty source of healthy protein.
Many of us pay premium prices for seafood dishes at fine dining restaurants - are we suggesting the poor would rather suffer from malnutrition than have affordable seafood?

What I recommended earlier will flood the market with seafood, making it as cheap as rice.
In some countries, tuna and salmon are almost staple for the poor due to low price.

We also need to grow our own fish processing industry so that canned seafood is available cheaply across the country (fish preservation concerns go out the window. A poor, underemployed labourer in Rangpur who cannot afford his own fridge can still have cheap seafood to complement rice and lentil. This is unfathomable at present) and also for export.

Even if seafood gets "rejected" by poor Bangladeshis, there is enormous export potential worth billions of dollars - another pathway for diversifying the export basket away from garments (as a %).

 

[mulj]

piss off, muljinul pimpam

You meant to say, you want some cow piss beverage for yourself

 

[bluesky]

We need to take off our lenses of wealth and privilege, where we are picky eaters, and think of the poor who often survive on just rice and lentil. They will appreciate a cheap and tasty source of healthy protein.
Many of us pay premium prices for seafood dishes at fine dining restaurants - are we suggesting the poor would rather suffer from malnutrition than have affordable seafood?

What I recommended earlier will flood the market with seafood, making it as cheap as rice.
In some countries, tuna and salmon are almost staple for the poor due to low price.

We also need to grow our own fish processing industry so that canned seafood is available cheaply across the country (fish preservation concerns go out the window. A poor, underemployed labourer in Rangpur who cannot afford his own fridge can still have cheap seafood to complement rice and lentil. This is unfathomable at present) and also for export.

Even if seafood gets "rejected" by poor Bangladeshis, there is enormous export potential worth billions of dollars - another pathway for diversifying the export basket away from garments (as a %).

Yes, you are right. But, do you think poor people without jobs and income can afford river or sea?

So, please ask Hasina Bibi to initiate privately built industries where people can work and earn money. Money is needed to buy daily necessities including fish, meat and staples. And, our people have little money to buy foods.

 

[DF41]

If you need Bangladeshi cuisine skills, you need to maybe come back and get trained. Plenty of new engg. projects going on with CREC and CMBEC. Or watch YouTube.

Thank you.

I know I cannot be trained in cooking skills.

My cooking is adequate for myself and fantastic for my kitty and birdies. If you do not believe me on that, PM me and I PM you back and let you read and you decide if any kitty or birdie can eat better than mine.

I was in HongKong, and this lady there prepared the most wonderful of chicken soup. So much so that me and my wife went to her place, and under her exact instructions with her at my elbow, I prepared chicken soup to my delight and her satisfaction.

Every step of the way noted down.

And tried back at home in Hong Kong.

And the chicken soup , why adequate, not something I can proudly invite friends to try.

When I was living in Taiwan, there was this lady with 2 daughters helping her in her hole in the wall stall.

That lady can deliver the most amazing harma (clam) soup that will make my knees melt with delight.

Her daughters who watched every step and use the same ingredients , and the same saucepan, and the same fire never could duplicate the soup of the mother.

Obviously the mother did not hide anything from her 2 daughters, who never managed to duplicate their mom.

Without fail, I could tell who prepared the soup, the mother or the first or 2nd daughter.

Recipe is point A and point B and point C etc etc giving the intermediate point

But between Point A and Point B, many other aspects. Maybe secret mantra that must be voiced silently and with concentration that they never divulged to me