Bengal records scanty Hilsa catch, eyes imports

It has been more than two months since the southwest monsoon hit West Bengal, but the Hilsa, popularly known as the Queen of Fishes, aren’t biting.

Fishermen, who venture into the sea and catch the fish from the estuaries, have complained of a meagre catch, but imports provide a glimmer of hope, with the expectation that the Bangladesh government may allow some consignments ahead of the festive Durga Puja season.

“The catch has been very poor this year. Till now we have hardly been able to catch around 2000 tons. In a year, when the catch is normal, the catch may go up to 20,000 – 25,000 tons. Earlier when the catch used to be good it went up to 60,000 – 70,000 tons. The last time we got a good catch was around 2017-2018,” said Bijan Maity, president of the Kakdwip Fishermen Association in Bengal, talking about the catch during monsoon, from June to September.

Other fishermen’s associations in the three coastal districts of West Bengal echoed the sentiment -- the catch, once again, is poor.

During the monsoon, shoals of Hilsa swim several kilometres from the sea into estuaries and then upstream along the rivers to spawn, after which they return to the Bay of Bengal. The eggs hatch in freshwater and the sub-adult Hilsa swim downstream into the sea. There’s another cycle in February and March.

“This migration depends on multiple factors from depth of water at the mouth of rivers, amount of rainfall, river flush and water-pollution. The Hilsa, being very sensitive, change their course and swim in the direction where the conditions are favourable. If they don’t find suitable conditions in Hooghly in West Bengal they enter the Meghna-Padma estuary (in Bangladesh). Some may even go towards the Irrawaddy in Myanmar,” said Shyamsundar Das, joint secretary of West Bengal United Fishermen Association.

And this year, conditions aren’t good in Bengal (like they haven’t been for the past two to three years).

Experts said that siltation on the riverbeds near the mouth of the river is a major factor. If the Hilsa doesn’t get a depth of 30 - 40 feet, it won’t swim upstream. In the Hooghly this depth has come down to around 20 - 25 feet due to years of siltation

There is another major factor behind the decline. Bengal’s gastronomic greed to savour Hilsa has resulted in reckless fishing. Thousands of mechanized boats resort to bottom trawling, using small-holed fishing nets, and destroying the young fish.

“In India there is a fishing ban from mid-April to mid-June. But we also need to increase the net size so that juveniles can be spared. Bangladesh has introduced tough laws and is getting results. The country is getting a bumper catch almost every year. This year they have already reported a few lakh tons,” said Utpal Bhowmik a Hilsa expert and the former head of the riverine fishery division at Central Inland Fishery Research Institute.

In June 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown restrictions were lifted, fishermen’s associations expressed hope of a bumper Hilsa catch, as the Ganges and its tributaries were less polluted due to the lockdown coupled with a good monsoon. But last year too, the catch was poor.

With poor supply, prices have soared. The fish sells for ₹2000 – 2500 a kg in Kolkata. Worryingly, decent-sized Hilsa (at least 1.5 kg) are hard to find in the market what is mostly available are juvenile hilsa weighing around 500 – 700 grams.

Experts such as Bhowmik, believe the catch is good only every five to 10 years. Others say that if the monsoon is still active in September, and water levels rise, the chance of a good catch improves.

Right now though, everyone is counting on imports. The Hilsa importers’ association claims that the Bangladesh government may allow some consignments to be exported ahead of the festive season.

“Till now no consignments have landed at the border. A few exporters in Bangladesh have already applied for permission. We hope that the Bangladesh government will allow some consignments before the Puja season,” said SA Maqsood, secretary of the Fish Importers’ Association in West Bengal.

This year, Bengal will celebrate Durga Puja in in the second week of October.