Bangladesh is known as to her citizens as the Sonar Bangla, Golden Bengal, because of the richness of her land that takes on golden hue when the rice crop is ready for harvesting. Bangladesh is also known as the Land of the Royal Bengal Tiger, for the mangrove forests of Bangladesh plays host to some of the most magnificent specimens of the big cat.
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| Hilsha |
But, to me, her most cherished treasure is the ilish, or the Hilsa Shad fish. Hilsa shad, one of the most important tropical fish of the family clupeidae under the genus Tenualosa and species ilisha is anadromous in nature, not a common phenomenon in tropical water compared to temperate and arctic regions, lives in the sea for most of its life, but migrates at least 1,200 km up in some river system in Indian sub-continent for spawning behavior. Distances of 50-100 km are more typical in Bangladesh.
Bangladeshis and Bengalis are noted for their love of fish, and God could not have rewarded them better than providing her waters with this most exquisitely delicious fish to titillate the palates of Bangladeshis.
Hilsa shad contributing 30 % of total fish production of Bangladesh, and about 40 % fishermen or 2 % of total population of the country earn their livelihood depending on Hilsa fishery directly or indirectly. Therefore economic contribution from this single species of fish is very high, in an agricultural based country like Bangladesh.
Three separate species of Hilsa Shad are found in Bay of Bengal, they are Hilsa kelee, Hilsa toli and Hilsa ilisha now Tenualosa ilisha. Tenualosa ilisha is considered as anadromous species while the other two species are restricted to marine environment. And in this report we are dealing only with anadromous stock.
In the case of Bangladesh, even the fishermen enjoying the current glut of Hilsa (which has caused the government to lift the winter ban) realize that this may be too much of a good thing. However, the prospect of a winter without empty rice bowls and hungry children has largely overcome their concern.
Hilsa, a national favorite and related to chad, has a mild flavor like walleye, sunfish or trout. Last year, in season, these popular fish sold for about $6 per kilo. This year, in the off-season, but also largely because of the glut, the price is half that.
Not only are these migratory (anadromous) fish abundant, but their size defies explanation. Normally, Hilsa caught during winter are immature, ranging from 4 to 15 centimeters (or cm; 1.57 to 5.9 inches) in length and weighing half a kilogram at most. Mature Hilsa are generally 32 to 55 cm (about 12.5 to 21.5 inches) long and weigh from 1 to 1.5 kilograms (or 2.2 to 3.3 pounds).
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A large-sized hilsa weighs about 2.5 kg. Hilsa is primarily a plankton feeder and feeds on blue-green algae, diatoms, desmids, copepods, cladocera, rotifers, etc. A change in season and age varies the feeding habit of the fish. Female hilsas grow faster, and are usually larger than males. The hilsa is known to be a fast swimmer and can cover even 60 kilometers at a time. It attains maturity in one to two years.Hilsa is a Pariah fish. Though basically a marine fish it thrives in estuarine and riverine environments. The fish is found in the Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal, Vietnam Sea and China Sea. Their habitat covers the Satil Arab, and the Tigris and Euphrates of Iran and Iraq, the Indus of Pakistan, the rivers of Eastern India, the Irawaddy of Myanmar, and the Padma, Jamuna, Meghna, Karnafully and other coastal rivers of Bangladesh. It swims upstream as the inland stretches of these rivers are the breeding grounds for the fish. In West Bengal Hilsa is available in five regions - from Farakka to Konnagor, in the sweet water region; Konnagor to Diamondharbour, in the slope of Ganges; from Diamondharbour to Sandhead, in the distributaries region of Bay of Bengal. Besides hilsa is also available in Matla and Rupnarayan River.