Can fishing bans alone replenish Bangladesh’s dwindling Hilsa production? 

Bangladesh has banned the catching, buying, selling, stocking, and transportation of all fish, including the Hilsa, in rivers and other waterways from 8 October to 29 October.

In coastal Lakshmipur, the district administration, Department of Fisheries, river police, and Coast Guard have launched awareness campaigns along the Meghna River and the upazilas under the district. 

The government has been enforcing these 22-day bans for two decades. But why 22? The answer lies in the life cycle of the Hilsa itself.

Sunil Chandra Ghosh, a former fisheries officer and Lakshmipur resident, has spent years studying the breeding and life cycle of Hilsa. 

"Hilsa migrate from the sea to freshwater rivers to spawn. An adult Hilsa can travel more than 1,300 kilometres upstream in search of a suitable spawning ground," he explains.

And October to November is the peak breeding season, although the fish breed throughout the year. February-March and July-August are considered secondary breeding seasons. 

"Hilsa larvae hatch from fertilised eggs within about 22 to 26 hours. They gradually develop into juvenile hilsa, feeding and growing as they drift downstream, usually in slightly saline water. After around five to six months, the fish reach the sub-adult, or 'jatka', stage. At this point, the jatka leave the rivers and their tributaries and head out to sea. After spending about a year there, they return to the rivers to spawn," says Sunil.

A Hilsa typically lives for two to six years.

After reaching 571,000 tonnes in 2022–23, Bangladesh’s hilsa production fell sharply to 529,000 tonnes in 2023–24. 

Production in decline

At a recent workshop in Dhaka, State Minister for Fisheries and Livestock Sultan Salahuddin Tuku noted that Bangladesh accounts for nearly 70-80% of the world's total Hilsa production.

Yet, data from the Department of Fisheries show a downward trend in Hilsa production in recent years. 

The country produced 565,000 tonnes of Hilsa in the 2020–21 fiscal year. Production rose slightly to 567,000 tonnes in 2021–22 and climbed further to 571,000 tonnes in 2022–23. But it fell to 529,000 tonnes in 2023–24, and according to reports citing Department of Fisheries data, it dropped to around 500,000 tonnes in 2024–25.

Researchers point to changes in rainfall, temperature, river currents, water depth, flooding, food availability, and water quality as factors behind the decline. 

In southern rivers, silt accumulation and sandbars have reduced water depth, while industrial waste has polluted waterways and contributed to rising water temperatures. Monsoon rainfall has also been unusually low in recent years.

Molla Emdadullah, project director of the Hilsa Fisheries Development and Management Project, recently told reporters that the decline extends beyond Hilsa, with catches of other fish species also falling. He attributed the trend to excessive fishing.

Experts say shallower river mouths are also disrupting Hilsa migration. Hilsa needs around 30 feet of water to move freely, but many estuaries are only eight or nine feet deep during low tide. As Hilsa's life cycle depends on both the sea and rivers, maintaining the health of both ecosystems is essential to sustaining the fishery.

Protecting Hilsa will require a coordinated approach: safeguarding mature Hilsa during the breeding season, stopping the harvesting of juvenile fish, enforcing restrictions on banned fishing nets, maintaining river depth and natural flow, protecting breeding grounds, reducing river pollution and ensuring viable alternative livelihoods for fishing communities.

Prices beyond reach

The decline in production is being felt at the markets as well. 

At fish landing stations in Lakshmipur, Hilsa weighing around 250 grams are currently selling for Tk600–700 per kilogram. Fish weighing around 500 grams are fetching more than Tk1,000 per kilogram, while Hilsa weighing between 800 grams and 1 kilogram is being sold for Tk1,800–2,200 per kilogram.

Mohammad Alam Hossain, a farmer from the Meghna riverbank in Char Ramani Mohan area of Lakshmipur, said, "I haven't been able to afford a one-kilogram hilsa even once in the past two years. Yet Hilsa are caught right in front of my home. We simply cannot buy them because the price is too high."

Such steep Hilsa prices create a difficult reality not only for consumers but also for the fishermen who depend on the fishery for their livelihoods. 

Various studies note that the livelihoods of around three million people across the Bay of Bengal region depend, directly or indirectly, on Hilsa fishing and the businesses linked to it.

Once an exporter, now an importer

Bangladesh has traditionally exported Hilsa to India, particularly during Durga Puja. But Hilsa exports are neither regular nor open-ended like those of other fish; the government allows exports of specified quantities through special approvals.

According to data from the Department of Fisheries, Bangladesh exported 1,211 tonnes of Hilsa to India in the 2021-22 fiscal year, 1,376 tonnes in 2022-23, 664 tonnes in 2023-24 and 532 tonnes in 2024-25. 

As domestic production has declined, Hilsa exports to India have also fallen significantly.

But this year, the picture reversed. Between 20 July and 20 September, around 553 tonnes of Hilsa entered Bangladesh from India through the Benapole land port. 

For a country that supplied the Indian market for years to now buy the fish from India signals a major shift in Bangladesh's Hilsa production and market dynamics.

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) says a significant portion of the Hilsa imported by Bangladesh came from the Bharuch region of Gujarat. Some consignments also arrived through the wholesale market in Howrah, West Bengal.

The ICAR-CIFRI findings also identify the Hooghly estuary and the Sundarbans in West Bengal as important habitats and fishing grounds for Hilsa.

Bangladeshi and Indian Hilsa are, in essence, the same species: Tenualosa ilisha.

Yet geography can make the same species taste and look different. 

Differences in rivers, estuaries and seas, along with variations in salinity, food, currents, spawning grounds and the wider aquatic environment, can shape the fish's physical characteristics and flavour.

How many species of Hilsa are there in the world?

Hilsa is one of South Asia's most popular fish, with the largest population found in the Bay of Bengal. 

According to the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), five species of Hilsa are found around the world, three of them in Bangladesh. The species are Tenualosa ilisha, Tenualosa toli and Hilsa kelee.

Of these, the Tenualosa ilisha of the Padma-Meghna river system is the most sought after. The species is found in marine, brackish and freshwater environments across Bangladesh, India, Myanmar and several other countries.

Tenualosa toli, known as the toli shad or chandana Hilsa, is found in coastal waters of Gujarat, West Bengal and Odisha in India, as well as along the coasts of Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.

The range of Hilsa kelee, known as the kelee shad or gurta Hilsa, extends across the Bay of Bengal and the Indo-West Pacific region.

Two other species, Tenualosa macrura, commonly known as the long-tailed hilsa, and Tenualosa primvisci, occur in coastal waters of China and East Asia.

Abdul Quddus, a former fisheries officer from Lakshmipur, says the rivers, estuaries and marine waters of Bangladesh play an important role in shaping the fish's flavour and characteristics.

Hilsa in Bangali culture

In Bangladesh, Hilsa is recognised as the national fish, while West Bengal recognises it as the state fish.

In Bangali communities in Bangladesh and India, the fish has taken on an almost symbolic status. It is traditionally served during Pahela Baishakh, Durga Puja, Saraswati Puja, Jamai Shasthi, weddings and other auspicious occasions.

Dishes such as shorshe ilish, bhapa ilish, ilish pulao, ilish paturi, fried Hilsa and panta-ilish have become a part of Bengal's culinary heritage.

In 2017, Bangladeshi Hilsa received Geographical Indication (GI) status.

What next for the Bangladeshi Hilsa?

The 22-day fishing ban during the breeding season remains an important conservation measure, but it cannot be viewed as a solution on its own, experts say. 

Protecting Hilsa will require a coordinated approach: safeguarding mature Hilsa during the breeding season, stopping the harvesting of juvenile fish, enforcing restrictions on banned fishing nets, maintaining river depth and natural flow, protecting breeding grounds, reducing river pollution and ensuring viable alternative livelihoods for fishing communities.

The future of Hilsa, ultimately, depends not on a single intervention but on whether the rivers, estuaries and communities that sustain this iconic fish can be protected together.