Small Haor Fish Market Operates Daily at Dusk

A temporary wholesale market for small indigenous fish species operates daily for a brief period between late afternoon and early evening on the banks of the Kawadighi Haor. Located near Khaishaura village in the Moulvibazar Sadar Upazila, the market runs from approximately 4:00 pm or 5:00 pm until dusk, dissolving completely as twilight approaches and the day’s catch is cleared by commercial traders.

Geographic Setting and Local Enterprise

The marketplace is situated at a bridge infrastructure element (culvert) in Karamullahpur village, a location where the Akhailkura and Ekatuna Unions converge. The area is bounded by three adjacent villages: Karamullahpur, Kalaipura, and Khaishaura. Local residents use these village names interchangeably to describe the location of the market.

During the summer months, a persistent breeze from the Kawadighi Haor draws local residents to the bridge. The gathering consists primarily of fishermen, wholesale buyers, and local spectators. Fishermen transport their catch from the haor directly to this central point, carrying fish in traditional woven baskets, known locally as chaungra, or slinging fish containers across their shoulders. Wholesale merchants converge on the arriving fishermen to negotiate prices before packing the fish into plastic crates and wicker baskets for transport.

According to local residents, including Renu Miah and Durud Miah of Karamullahpur village, the transaction cycle completes swiftly as the final fishing boats return. The bulk of the purchased fish is immediately transported by retail vendors to urban assembly centres, specifically the TC Market and West Bazar in Moulvibazar town, for secondary retail distribution the following morning.

Technical Inventory of Local Aquatic Catch

The daily supply at the Karamullahpur bridge market consists entirely of fresh, small-stature indigenous fish species harvested from the freshwater ecosystem of Kawadighi Haor. The common varieties brought to the market include:

Fishermen Operational Schedules and Logistics

The fishing community across the three surrounding villages relies heavily on the seasonal waters of the haor. Local records and interviews indicate that between 150 and 200 small boats are deployed into the Kawadighi Haor daily during the wet season. The vessels are operated either individually or by pairs of fishermen using specialised fine-mesh drift nets locally designated as pata jal.

The fishermen follow distinct, rigorous shifts to maximise their catch of small-scale fish varieties:

• Afternoon Shift: Fishermen depart for the open water at approximately 2:00 pm and harvest fish continuously until 6:00 pm, returning immediately to the culvert market to clear their catch.

• Overnight and Dawn Shift: Operators venture into the haor at approximately 3:00 am to retrieve stationary nets deployed during the previous evening, harvesting the fish during the early hours of the morning.

• Dual-Shift Routine: A segment of the fishing population executes both schedules daily, ensuring a consistent supply of live catch for the evening commercial market.

Mosharraf Miah, a fisherman from Khaishaura village, described his standard routine of entering the haor at 2:00 pm and returning by 6:00 pm. On a typical afternoon, his single-session catch fetches between 500 and 600 Taka at the culvert. Similarly, another local fisherman, Tanzil Hasan, confirmed that his afternoon haul yielded a market value of 500 to 700 Taka. Hasan noted that after selling his afternoon catch and securing his vessel at the banks alongside the water hyacinths, his routine required him to re-enter the haor at 3:00 am to conduct his secondary harvest. This continuous cycle of harvesting and trading persists uninterrupted for as long as the seasonal haor waters remain high enough to support the fish populations.