Laden with debt and fear of pirates, thousands of fishers head to Dublar Char for the dried-fish season as a floating hospital arrives for the first time

The five-month dried-fish season at Dublar Char in the Sundarbans begins on Friday (October 30). Carrying loans of lakhs of taka taken from moneylenders, the fear of abduction and extortion by forest pirates at sea, uncertainty over the catch, and the risk of storms and tidal surges, thousands of fishers have already gathered in the coastal rivers around Mongla.

By Thursday (October 29) afternoon, the fishers gathered in the coastal rivers were preparing to set out for the sea — some from midnight, many others at dawn on Friday. With money borrowed from moneylenders, they have bought nets, ice, food, fuel and other fishing gear and readied their trawlers.

This year's dried-fish season will run until the end of March next year. The income of these five months is the mainstay of the whole year's livelihood for coastal fishers and fish traders. The loans are meant to be repaid from the proceeds of fish sales at the end of the season, but if the catch is poor, pirates extort money, or a natural disaster causes losses, that calculation falls apart.

According to the Forest Department, around 10,000 fishers and moneylenders may gather this season at Alorkol, Officekella, Narkelbaria and Shelar Char on Dublar Char. Approval has been given for 900 temporary houses for them to stay in, 100 depots for buying and selling fish, and 100 shops selling groceries, oil, medicine and other goods, along with salons and eateries. Dried-fish production, fishing, transport and trade together directly and indirectly employ about 20,000 people.

Dublar Char in the Sundarbans, on the Bay of Bengal coast, is one of the country's most important dried-fish production centres. Because the fish are sun-dried without chemicals, the dried fish from here has a distinct reputation for taste and aroma, according to people involved in the trade. Dried fish produced at Dublar Char is supplied to major trading centres including Chattogram, Saidpur, Rangpur and Dhaka. Another part of the catch is preserved in ice and sent by trawler to wholesale depots in Khulna, Bagerhat, Dhaka and elsewhere. Alongside the domestic market, there is also demand for this dried fish abroad.

Alongside the uncertainty of the catch, the fishers' biggest worry is the menace of forest pirates. There are allegations of abduction, ransom demands and pirates taking a share of the fish from those who go to sea to fish. People involved say there are also reports of new pirate gangs organising ahead of the dried-fish season, which is increasing fear among fishers and moneylenders.

Md Kamal Uddin Ahmed, president of the Dublar Char Fishermen Group, said pirate activity has made the dried-fish business risky. Fear prevails among the fishers who go to sea, and last season traders had to pay lakhs of taka in extortion money to the pirate gangs.

The Forest Department has issued cautionary instructions for the fishers' safety. They have been advised not to go into the deep sea alone, to stay together in groups of 15 to 20 boats at night, and not to venture deep into the Sundarbans. Alongside forest guards deployed at various points in the Sundarbans, the Special Response Battalion (SRB) and the Coast Guard have taken special security measures.

Nistar Ahmed, commander of SRB-6, said 74 members of six forest pirate gangs have already surrendered. The SRB has a temporary camp at Dublar Char, from where security duties are being carried out.

Lieutenant Commander Sabbir Alam Sujan, media officer at Coast Guard headquarters, said the Coast Guard's West Zone has taken special security measures to ensure the overall protection of fishers in the coming dried-fish harvesting season.

During the five-month season, the work of drying fish does not stop even amid storms and tidal surges. At such times fishers face heavy financial losses if trawlers sink, fish rot in the rain, or the drying work is disrupted. Continuous rain raises fears that fish laid out to dry on the platforms will spoil. Even when fishing stops because of a disaster, the costs of boats, workers, food and fuel still have to be borne.

Alongside natural disasters, protecting the Sundarbans' environment is also important. The Forest Department has said no forest resources of the Sundarbans may be used to build the fishers' temporary houses, depots and fish-drying platforms. Necessary construction materials must be brought from their own areas, and legal action will be taken if trees are cut or used without permission.

Because of the pirate threat, storms and surges, and the remoteness of the area, it becomes difficult for sick fishers to get treatment during the dried-fish season. Against that reality, a floating hospital of the organisation Friendship will operate at Dublar Char for five months this time — the first such arrangement. Alongside treatment for sick fishers, a speedboat will be kept for carrying seriously ill patients.

Lion Dr Sheikh Faridul Islam, state minister for environment, forest and climate change, said the Friendship floating hospital has been arranged for the first time this year considering the fishers' treatment needs, and it will provide medical services for five months. He also said two Coast Guard-led operations are under way to eliminate piracy in the Sundarbans, and piracy has already decreased considerably compared to before. Steps have been taken to make the Sundarbans pirate-free and ensure the fishers' unhindered movement.

Md Rezaul Karim Chowdhury, divisional forest officer of the East Sundarbans division, said the Forest Department earned seven and a half crore taka in revenue in the last dried-fish season. This year a target of eight crore taka has been set. However, there are fears that alongside financial losses to fishers and moneylenders, revenue collection may also be affected because of the pirates. The Coast Guard has been requested to strengthen night patrols to ensure the fishers' safety.