This document provides an overview of the Hilsa fish species, which is an important commercial fish in the Indo-Pacific region. Some key points: 1. Hilsa fish migrate between freshwater rivers and the sea to spawn and feed. Major spawning grounds are located in the Ganges-Brahmaputra river delta region. 2. Juvenile Hilsa spend time growing in nursery grounds along rivers before migrating to sea feeding/growing grounds. 3. Bangladesh has established Hilsa sanctuaries and seasonal fishing bans to help conserve stocks of this important species. Management of Hilsa fisheries is a national priority given its economic and cultural significance.

1. Introduction
The family Clupeidae is among the preferred food fishes in the world, including the Herrings,
Shads, Sprats, Sardines, Pilchards and Menhadens. Belonging to the family Clupeidae, Hilsa,
as commonly called in eastern region of India and Bangladesh, is a group of migratory fish
species in commercial catches in a number of countries bordering the Bay of Bengal, Indian
Ocean, Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea. The species inhabits rivers, estuaries and coastal
waters. Among the Hilsa fishing countries, Bangladesh and India are the major contributors,
as its highest catch comes from the deltaic region of the Gangetic system in the coastal Bay
of Bengal. The fish is anadromous; grows and matures in the sea and migrates to freshwater
for spawning. Juveniles develop and grow in freshwater and gradually migrate to the sea,
where they spend most of their lives. Hilsa is an important and lucrative commercial fish of
the Indo-Pacific region. Due to its nutritional value and taste, the fish is considered a delicacy
and provides direct or indirect livelihood to millions of fishers along the coastal and riverine
stretches in its range of distribution. It is most abundant in the Ganga-Brahmaputra-Magna
river systems of India, Bangladesh and Myanmar, forming one of the most important
commercial fisheries in these countries.
Bangladesh is endowed with vast marine and coastal waters having an area of about 1.5 times
more than that of her total land mass. The environment is under the dynamic interface
between terrestrial systems and marine systems dominated by wave actions and tidal currents
from the Bay of Bengal. The land territory of Bangladesh is linked to the seabed and subsoil
in the Bay by a singular process of erosion and deposition that has (a) lifted much of
Bangladesh’s landmass out of the sea, and (b) shaped the highly unusual seabed throughout
the Bay (ITLOS, 2010). The countries exclusive economic zone (EEZ) spans 164,000 sq. km
and the shelf area covers roughly 66,440 sq. km (Hussain, and Hoq, 2010). Bangladesh sits in
a broad and deep concavity at the northern limit of the Bay of Bengal, with Myanmar to its
east and India to its west (ITLOS, 2010).
This marine and associated coastal zone is characterized by sprawling estuaries, dense
mangrove forest, coral reef island and the world’s longest sea beach. There are many
sedimentary islands in the estuary and along the coastline, and about seven sq. km of new
land emerges from the sea every year (ITLOS, 2010). Fishing is the most significant
economic activity on these islands besides serving as an important base of operations for the
Bangladesh Navy and Coast Guard with a great potential of ecotourism.
Objectives of Hilsa Fishery study
1. Assessment of natural stock of hilsa and their habitat preference, biology and
biochemical composition in different ecosystems.
2. To develop knowledge base on genome-wide variation and population structure of
hilsa to support aquaculture and natural stock management.
3. Evaluation of osmoregulatory and endocrine changes of hilsa in relation to ionic
homeostasis and gonad maturation.
4. Development and standardization of captive breeding, seed production and culture
systems
5. Development of feed and augmentation of homing through chemo-attractants.

2. Migratory Pattern, Route and Abundance of Hilsa (Tenualosa ilisha)
During entire life, Hilsa shad (the national fish of Bangladesh) migrates both from sea to
freshwater and freshwater to sea to meet the biological demand. Hilsa shad (Tenualosa ilisha)
lives in the sea for most of its life, but migrates at least 1,200-1,300 km upstream from
estuarine region for spawning purpose and it also found about 250 km distance from coastal
region (Halder and Islam, 2008). As this is one of the flagship fish species of Bangladesh,
conservation of this species is indeed needed. Therefore, knowledge on migratory pattern and
route of this species demand more attention to boost awareness and enhance conservatory
practice for them in Bangladesh.
Migration:
The term migration comes from Latin word “Migrare” which means “to travel.” Generally,
migration refers to any movement of animal from one place to another. On the other hand, it
can be said that, migration is confined to rhythmic movement of animal which involves a
journey from one place to another and come back again. “Generally, a migration is more or
less continuous and direct movement from one location to another. Such movement is under
the control of the fish, genetically determined, and is influenced by environmental factors.
Typically, a migration includes one or more returns to the starting location” (Lagler et al.,
1962).
Reasons behind migration:
Migrations are mainly for spawning or feeding purpose and are generally time oriented.
Many factors influence migratory movements. They may be physical, chemical and
biological (Lagler et al., 1962).
 Physical factors: bottom materials, water depth, current and tide, turbidity,
temperature, and light intensity;
 Chemical factors: salinity, alkalinity, dissolved gases, odor, tastes, and pollutants and
 Biological factors: sexual development, blood pressure, social response, hunger, food,
physiological clock, and endocrine state.
Migratory pattern, route and abundance of Hilsa shad:
Generally, two types of migratory pattern are seen for Hilsa shad in Bangladesh. These are-
1. South-west monsoon migration: During this migration, Hilsa fish mainly lives in the
sea and around the monsoon, when consequent flooding of all the rivers and it is time
to spawn, swims against the tide and goes back to the river where its mother had
given birth to it. Earlier, the Hilsa would move from the Bay of Bengal to Bangladesh
rivers, the Padma, and the Meghna, for spawning. It would also take the western route
to the Ganga. Now there is more hilsa in the west, in areas bordering Indian waters.
2. Winter migration: Migration of Hilsa shad is not limited to monsoon only, but it also
migrates short period during winter. It happens during the month of February to
March.

3. Hilsa is anadromous in nature with a life cycle that follows the general pattern of breeding
upstream in the freshwater and the larvae hatching from the free floating eggs. The immature
young stages grow in river channels and then descend to the sea for a period of feeding and
growth before returning to the rivers as mature breeding adults to complete the cycle. There
are three types of grounds in Bangladesh used by the Hilsa to complete their entire life cycle
or migration.
Spawning grounds:
Adult brood Hilsa mainly spawn at major deltaic rivers, estuaries and coastal areas of
Bangladesh. But it has four main spawning grounds in Bangladesh (Halder and Islam, 2008).
These are-
1. Dhalerchar of Charfashion in Bhola (about 125 sq. km area);
2. Monpura in Bhola (about 80 sq. km area);
3. Moulavichar of Hatia in Noakhali (about 120 sq. km area);
4. Kalirchar of Sandwip (about 194 sq. km area) of Bangladesh.
Hilsa spawn more or less throughout the year, they have a minor spawning season during
February-March and a major season in September-October. Local fishermen catch migrating
adults from February to May from different deltaic rivers.
Nursery grounds:
After hatching from free floating eggs, the larvae remain in their nursery grounds where they
feed and grow. There are mainly five nursery grounds where Jatka (Hilsa fish sized less than
25 cm) grows for six to ten weeks before going back to the sea for further growth and
maturity. These nursery grounds are situated from Shatnol of Chandpur to Char Alexander of
Laxmipur (100-km stretch of Meghna River), from Madanpur / char Ilisha to char Pial of
Bhola district (90 km of Shahbajpur channel of Meghna confluence), from Bheduria of Bhola
to char Rustom of Patuakhali (100 km of Tentulia River), Andharmanik River route at
Kalapara upazilla of Patuakhali district (40 km area) and Narhira to Bhedarganj of Shariatpur
district (20 km stretch of Lower basin Padma River) (DoF, 2013). These grounds have been
declared as sanctuary for conserving jatka.

4. Feeding and growing grounds:
Juvenile Hilsa spends about 1-1.5 years in the Bay of Bengal for further growth and
development. When these fishes become sexually mature, they begin their journey to the
estuary and river for spawning purpose and the cycle continues.
Hilsa Fishery Management: Hilsa (Shad) is an important diadromous fish in the South
and south-East Asia especially in Bangladesh. It is considered as national fish in the country
and contributes to the national economy, employment and export. Hilsa has the highest
contribution in the country's fish production as the single fish species. More than 11% of the
country's fish production comes from Hilsa. In 2010-11 Hilsa production was 3.40 lakh MT,

5. which values around10,000 crore taka. DoF has taken some steps to strengthen the on-going
Hilsa management through jatka Conservation Project/Program like (1) to establish 5 Hilsa
sanctuaries, (2) to arrange need based training to involve the hilsa fishers for effective
intervention of alternation income generating activities, and (3) to support the hilsa fishers with
30 kg food grains/family/month during the ban periods for four months. A total of 20 thousand
fishers in Hilsa sanctuary areas are being directly benefited through Alternate Income Generation
Activities.
Conclusion: We need to carry out various seismic, gravity and magnetic surveys, fisheries
stock assessments and exploration and extraction of mineral and petroleum deposits. Very
recently, The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) gave its judgment on the
dispute with Myanmar on the delimitation of our maritime boundary following the concave
nature of our coast (ITLOS, 2010b). But she is still struggling to establish maritime boundary
with India that has been pending since 1974, as the waters are not delimited, Bangladesh
cannot explore and exploit certain areas (Rashid, 2009). National security system in maritime
boundary needs to be strengthened to protect illegal fishing and mineral exploration by the
neighboring countries. But the country has a serious dearth if skilled manpower in the marine
sector to plan and conduct studies on the development and proper utilization of the resources.
Whereas development of human resources on various aspects of ocean and fisheries
disciplines is in the topmost priority overseas.
Diverse and abundant marine and coastal life forms and mineral and petroleum resources as
well as the potential use of tidal and wave energy is becoming increasingly important to
ensure the socio-economic development and fulfilling the strategic objectives of the country.
So, the country has a long way to go for proper utilization and management of her marine and
coastal resources for national flourishing and sovereignty with an integrated and holistic
approach. The government should come forward in this regard and the Bangladesh Navy and
other research and academic institutes should extend co-operation in studying the physical
and dynamic processes of the sea in various fields of oceanography, to facilitate exploration
and exploitation of sea resources while the regional understanding and relationship couldn’t
be over locked.
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