C T Online Desk: Mother carp fishes have started releasing fertilised eggs in the River Halda, the country’s lone natural fish spawning ground and home for freshwater dolphins, since early Friday.
Sources said the mother fishes started releasing the eggs around 1:45am, after getting a congenial atmosphere, like nonstop rainfall since Thursday evening.
The egg collectors who were eagerly waiting for this moment started collecting eggs with their boats, special nets, and other equipment in the river.
They were collecting eggs from different spots, including Nayahat under Hathazari upazila, according to the sources.
Manzoorul Kibria, a professor at Chittagong University’s Zoology department and coordinator of the Halda River Research Laboratory (HRRL), said the egg collectors were waiting to collect eggs in good numbers as the fishes released sample eggs earlier.
The collectors are expecting a good catch this season.
Mentionable, during the Bangla months of Baishakh and Jaishtha (April and May), major carps like ‘rui,’ ‘katla,’ ‘mrigel’ and ‘kali boush’ start migrating from Karnaphuli, Matamuhuri, and Sangu rivers to the spawning ground at Halda.
In congenial weather during the dark fortnight or full moon, particularly at the first shower of the monsoon, they start releasing fertilised eggs at suitable places, especially in the 10km stretch of the river from Satterghat to Madunaghat under Hathazari and Raozan upazilas.
