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A prolonged power outage has caused an oxygen shortage at a fish farm in Sonamukho Beel in Sharsha, Jessore, killing fish worth an estimated Tk15.5 crore, according to the farm owners.
The mass fish deaths began on Saturday night (August 22) at the Sajan fish enclosure in the Raipur-Sonamukho Beel under Bahadurpur Union of Sharsha upazila.
By Sunday morning (August 23), large quantities of pabda and other fish had died and were floating on the surface of the water.
Farm owners said frequent and prolonged power outages during both the day and night disrupted the modern oxygen supply system used in the enclosure. As a result, a large number of fish died within a few hours.
The incident has also triggered concern among fish farmers in other parts of the upazila.
The fish enclosure is owned by AF Fisheries Farm, jointly established by Alfazul Haque and Faruk Hossain. According to the owners, around 6 million pabda fish were being cultivated on 200 bighas of ponds.
Based on an average of 15 pabda fish weighing about one kilogram, the estimated production was around 10,000 maunds. With the current market price at around Tk15,000 per maund, the total market value of the fish was estimated at Tk15.5 crore.
The farm had already begun preparations to market the fish, including through export channels to India.
Farm owner Alfazul Haque said the prolonged power outage disrupted the oxygen supply system, while adverse weather conditions later worsened the situation.
“We have taken around Tk3.5 crore worth of fish feed on credit from various traders. I have no idea how we will repay the debt,” he said.
Another farm owner, Faruk Hossain, said the owners had suffered a devastating loss and might not be able to recover.
“Nearly 100 families depend directly or indirectly on this farm. There was no electricity after 1am, causing the oxygen supply system to collapse. Before dawn, large quantities of pabda fish had died and started decomposing,” he said.
Farm officials said part of the pabda produced at the farm is exported to India through the export chain. Such fish farming therefore not only meets local demand but also contributes to foreign exchange earnings, they said.
The affected farmers alleged that no officials from the Sharsha upazila administration, Department of Fisheries or electricity authorities had visited the site since the fish deaths began.
They called for an immediate inspection of the farm, an assessment of the losses and government assistance for the affected farmers.
Local fish farmers also demanded a stable electricity supply, along with financial assistance, easy-term loans and rehabilitation support for affected farm owners.
Manzurul Islam, assistant general manager of the Benapole Sub-Zonal Office, said load-shedding was occurring across the country, particularly in rural and semi-urban areas.
He said disruptions in power generation at some plants had created a shortfall in the national grid, forcing authorities to suspend electricity supply at regular intervals in different areas.
However, he claimed that the overall power situation was gradually improving.