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When the Dhaka city still lies under a blanket of silence at 3:00am every day, Jatrabari wakes to shouting porters, humming truck engines and the hiss of melting ice at a huge fish market there.

Every morning, fish worth over Tk 10 crore change hands across the sprawling market at south Jatrabari, now regarded as the largest and busiest fish hub in the capital and at the peak season, fish worth nearly Tk 15 crore are sold daily, according to wholesalers.

This extensive market — a cluster of 13 markets — feeds not just Dhaka but also its neighbouring districts, supporting an intricate web of fish traders, porters, transport workers and workers whose livelihoods depend on the activities at the market.

Trucks loaded with fish arrive one after another in the market from Barishal, Cox’s Bazar, Chandpur, Noakhali, Khulna, Kishorganj, Mymensingh, Natore and other places for auction at the market.

Frozen fish imported from India and Myanmar too, packed in ice, are auctioned at the market.

‘By about 4:00am, trucks start coming in. By about 5:00am, rush begins,’ says Ratan Malon, general secretary of the Jatrabari Fish Traders’ Association.

‘We have over 2,000 wholesalers and retailers working here. This market never sleeps.’

Scales of hilsa, shrimp, baila, kechki, chapila and other fish flash under flickering bulbs as traders shout prices across the floor.

The roots of this colossal network trace back to October 10, 1997, when 42 merchants established Dhaka Matsya Bazar on a small patch of land at south Jatrabari.

Two decades later, that modest beginning has grown into a cluster of 13 markets.

From Narsingdi, Ibrahim makes the trip three or four times a week. ‘I buy fish here at dawn and take them to the Cumilla Bishwaroad area to sell them there,’ he said.

Small-scale traders from Narsingdi, Narayanganj, Gazipur, and Keraniganj of Dhaka arrive in groups to buy fish, load their pickups, and head back to their destinations with the day’s purchases, a chain that keeps this market alive through early hours of a day.

Traders alleged that they had to pay money in extortion to local influential people during uploading their pickups.

Inside the auction sheds, clients call prices and deals close very quickly.

At the Shimul Merchant and Commission Agent, 400 kilograms of Barishal hilsa are sold daily at Tk 500-550 a kilogram.

‘During the hilsa season, we sell up to 2,500 kilograms a day,’ said one agent.

Residents and hotel business people from Jatrabari, Nayabzar, Khilgaon, Jurain, Shanir Akhra, Gandaria and neighbouring areas collect fish from this hub at about 30-40 per cent cheaper than local markets.

For traders like Mohammad Ilias from Fatullah, Jatrabari is more than a marketplace — it is a lifeline.

‘I used to buy fish from Kawran Bazar and Sowari Ghat,’ he said. ‘But Jatrabari gets the biggest and freshest supply now. I come here by dawn, buy, and deliver fish to homes before noon.’

Behind the trading frenzy, the workforce of nearly 900 labourers keeps the market moving.

Each pays Tk 30 daily to the labourers’ union. ‘We wait for the trucks,’ said Nur Islam from Lakshmipur, who earns Tk 500–700 a day.

Even the leftovers find a place in this cycle. Small-scale vendors gather rejected fish and sell them at low prices to buyers. By noon, activities at the fish market come to end.