Fish worth an estimated Tk5.60 crore have died at a fish farm in Sonamukhi beel area of Benapole after an oxygen shortage in the water, with farm owners blaming prolonged power outages for disrupting the oxygen supply system.
The mass deaths began early Saturday at a farm in Raipur-Sonamukhi beel under Bahadurpur Union. Large quantities of pangas and other fish were found floating dead from Sunday morning.
Farm owners said frequent power outages, combined with adverse weather conditions, sharply reduced oxygen levels in the water, causing the deaths within hours.
The affected farm, jointly established by entrepreneurs Alhajul Haque and Faruk Hossain, had around 60 lakh pangas fish. Farm officials said around 150 bighas of ponds had been leased to fish farmers.
Fish farmer Hafizur Rahman, associated with the farm, said the fish had a total production weight of around 10,000 maunds, based on an average weight of one kilogram for every 15 fish.
With the market price currently around Tk15,000 per maund, the total value of the fish was estimated at Tk5.60 crore, he said.
The fish were being prepared for sale, including possible exports to India. Farm owner Alhajul Haque said a large portion of the fish had already reached marketable size when the incident occurred.
“The power supply was disrupted for a long period at night, affecting the oxygen supply. The adverse weather made the situation worse,” he said.
Haque said he owed around Tk3.5 crore to different suppliers for fish feed.
“Overall, our losses are around Tk15.5 crore. I do not know how we will repay the debt or recover from this situation,” he said.
Faruk Hossain said the farm had been completely devastated and around 100 families depended on it directly or indirectly.
“Power went out after 1:00am and the oxygen supply system stopped working. Before morning, large numbers of pangas had died and the fish started decomposing,” he said.
A visit to the farm found countless dead fish floating on the water surface, with some already decomposing and emitting a foul smell. The sudden loss has left farm owners and workers distressed after years of investment and effort.
Farm officials said some fish produced at the farm were sold through export channels to India, contributing to both local supply and foreign currency earnings.
Local fish farmers said the incident has raised concerns among other farms in Sharsha upazila, where repeated power interruptions in recent days have disrupted fish farming operations.
They said modern fish farms rely heavily on electrically powered oxygen-supply systems, and prolonged outages can lead to similar disasters.
They called for a stable power supply, backup electricity and emergency oxygen systems for fish farms, along with quick loss assessments, financial assistance, low-interest loans and rehabilitation support for affected farmers.
They also demanded an investigation into the cause of the power disruption, the duration of the outage and the failure of the oxygen supply system.
However, District Fisheries Officer Md Monirul Mamun disputed the claim that the fish died directly due to the power outage. He said the deaths occurred because of oxygen deficiency after the farm failed to operate its aerators during the outage.
“Fish worth around Tk5.60 crore died. There was no electricity for around 40 minutes that day, but the fish did not die directly because of the power outage,” he said. He said farmers should have used generator-powered aerators to maintain oxygen levels in the water but failed to do so.
“Oxygen deficiency occurs in the early hours of the night. If the aerators had been operated with generators to supply oxygen, the fish could have been saved,” he said.
The fisheries officer added that farmers may receive compensation if the fish were insured.
A three-member committee has been formed to investigate the incident and submit a report within three days.
