86%of the world's hilsha is in Bangladesh

Even four years ago, Bangladesh was the source of 85% of the world's hilsa.

This time the average weight of hilsa is 950 grams.

Studies have shown that the mother hilsa lays her eggs in the river and the baby hilsa grows up in the river, when they return to the river.



Iftekhar Mahmood

Dhaka

Published: 12 September 2020, 10:36

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This time hilsa is being caught in flocks. Fishermen have returned to the port with a trawler loaded with hilsa from the deep sea. Preparations to take the yard from there. Recently Fishery Ghat in Chittagong City: Jewel Shil

As soon as I opened the social media Facebook, I saw a post with a picture of Hilsa. Silver hilsa is like a king's seat by printing all the fish in the market. Not only that, this time the size of hilsa in the market is also big. The price is also relatively low.

According to the International Fisheries Organization, Worldfish, 8 percent of the world's hilsa is being produced in Bangladesh this month. But even four years ago, 75 percent of the world's total hilsa production came from Bangladesh. During this period, the production of Hilsa has continuously increased here. In comparison, neighboring India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Pakistan have seen a decline in hilsa production. India is the second largest producer of hilsa after Bangladesh. Five years ago, the country produced about 25 percent of the world's hilsa. However, their production has dropped to about 10 percent this year. Myanmar, which is in the third position, has produced about 3 percent. The rest of the hilsa has been produced in Iran, Iraq, Kuwait and Pakistan.

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A two-day international research conference was held in India on Wednesday and Thursday at the initiative of the Central Fisheries Research Institute. One of the topics of discussion was how the production of Hilsa increased in Bangladesh. Professor Abdul Wahab, Team Leader, Ecofish Project, Worldfish Bangladesh, presented the keynote address at the conference. Highlighting the success of hilsa production in Bangladesh, he said the model developed by government agencies to increase hilsa production in the country is now being followed by many countries in the world.

This success has come due to the cessation of mother and Jatka hilsa, expansion of sanctuaries and protection of jails.

According to Professor Wahab's research paper, the hilsa sanctuaries that Bangladesh has set up in various rivers have consistently increased the production of this fish. In 2018-19, the Department of Fisheries of Bangladesh, Fisheries Research Institute and Worldfish Bangladesh jointly conducted the first study on the genetic characteristics and dynamics of Hilsa. It has been found that the mother hilsa lays its eggs in the river and where the baby hilsa grows up, they return to the river from the sea when they are mature. No matter how favorable the environment is in any other river or reservoir, they return to their place of birth. In Bangladesh, as the rate of spawning of hilsa in the sanctuaries is high and there is an opportunity to grow, they are returning from the sea. Countries like India, Myanmar, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have not been able to protect mother and Jatka Hilsa by setting up sanctuaries.

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Earlier in 2016, a team of scientists from the Bangladesh Fisheries Department and the Fisheries Research Institute said that the highest sustainable production of hilsa in Bangladesh could be 530,000 tons. But that prediction has been proven wrong. In four years, the production of hilsa has exceeded that limit. According to a study conducted by the Department of Fisheries and Worldfish in November last year, the highest sustainable production of 660,000 tons of hilsa is possible in Bangladesh.

We have got this success here because mother and Jatka have stopped catching hilsa. The expansion and protection of sanctuaries for the growth of Hilsa has also played a role in this regard. With the redesign of hilsa nets, hilsa production will increase in the coming days.

Rezaul Karim, Minister of Fisheries and Livestock

As part of the campaign to protect mother hilsa, fishing is stopped for 22 days during the main breeding season of hilsa from October 6 to October 28 every year. At that time, the government provided assistance to the listed fishermen under the social security program. Experts believe that this program has also played a role in increasing the production of Hilsa.

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Asked about this, Fisheries and Livestock Minister Sham Rezaul Karim told Prothom Alo, "We have come here because we have stopped catching mother and Jatka hilsa." The expansion and protection of sanctuaries for the growth of Hilsa has also played a role in this regard. With the redesign of the hilsa net, the production of hilsa will increase in the coming days. '

According to the observations of Worldfish, Department of Fisheries and Fisheries Research Institute, this time no country is close to Bangladesh's hilsa not only in terms of quantity but also in shape.

According to the observations of Worldfish, Department of Fisheries and Fisheries Research Institute, this time no country is close to Bangladesh's hilsa not only in terms of quantity but also in shape. The average weight of hilsa caught in this country in 2014 was 510 grams. Last year it increased to 915 grams. According to the Fisheries Research Institute, it may increase further to 950 grams this year. On the other hand, the small amount of hilsa caught in India, Myanmar or the countries bordering the Arabian Sea has an average weight of 500 to 600 grams. Scientists and researchers say that Hilsa of Bangladesh is the best in terms of nutrition and taste.

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All the steps taken to increase the production of Hilsa in Bangladesh were based on scientific research. And the government agencies have worked together with the law enforcement agencies to protect the hilsa sanctuary and not to catch hilsa during the ban. We are now getting the benefits of that too

Yahya Mahmud, Director General of the Fisheries Research Institute

A search of the hilsa landing centers in Chittagong from Barisal via Chandpur revealed that most of the hilsa in the market weighed one kg or so. There is also a lot of one and a half to two kilograms of hilsa. Ansar Ali Mollah, president of the Fishermen's Association of the Alipore Hilsa Landing Center at Kuakata in Patuakhali, said sales were good as they weighed more and prices were much lower than before.

In this regard, Yahya Mahmud Prothom Alo, Director General of Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute, said, "All the steps taken to increase the production of Hilsa in Bangladesh were based on scientific research." And the government agencies have worked together with the law enforcement agencies to protect the hilsa sanctuary and not to catch hilsa during the ban. We are getting the benefits of that now. '