Breeding and culture status of Hilsa (Tenualosa ilisha, Ham. 1822) in South Asia: a review

Abstract

The Hilsa shad, Tenualosa ilisha popularly known as ‘Hilsa’, is one of the most commercially important fish species in South Asian countries. The species is widely distributed from the Persian Gulf to Bay of Bengal and ascends into estuaries, rivers and brackish‐water lagoons of the Indo‐Pacific region. Recently, the availability of hilsa has drastically dwindled in aquatic systems across this region, due to anthropogenic pressures, mainly intensive fishing and river obstruction by dams and barrages. Climate change may also be contributing to the declining populations. Hence, there is an urgent need for conservation of the species. In addition, hilsa is of great cultural and economic importance among the peoples of Ganga‐Brahmaputra‐Meghna basin, with very high market demand and increasingly high prices, presently an average of around US$ 12 per kg for consumers both in India and Bangladesh. Many attempts at hilsa breeding and culture have been made across South Asia, particularly in India and Bangladesh, since the 1900s. To date, no breakthrough has been achieved in completing the life cycle in captivity. This review provides an insight into the status of artificial breeding, larval rearing and culture of this species, and identifies research gaps that need to be addressed by future aquaculture development programmes for hilsa in South Asia.

Tropical hilsa shad (Tenualosa ilisha): Biology, fishery and management

“…The market demands of high‐quality fish in the Middle East, Europe, North America, Japan and Australia have stimulated the hilsa price in recent years. For example, price of hilsa in retail markets of Bangladesh is US$10–12 per kg for individual weight 800–1200 g, and the price increases to US$20–25 per kg for fish weighing >1,500 g. About 75% of harvested hilsa in Bangladesh is consumed locally and the remaining 25% is exported, and the pattern is similar in other countries, India and Myanmar (Hossain, Almatar, & Al‐Hazza, ; Kleih et al., ; Sahoo et al., ).…”

“…In view of wider interests (national and international) and huge commercial importance, there is an urgent need for developing hatchery and grow‐out technology of hilsa. Critical research gaps include water quality and nutritional (live and artificial feeds) requirements, understanding the smoltification process, and broodstock management (Sahoo et al., ). In this connection, knowledge from the successful domestication and breeding of American shad ( Alosa sapidissima ), Chinese shad ( T. reevesii ) and Atlantic salmon ( Salmo salar ) can be useful.…”

“…has not been successful for hilsa, despite efforts made on artificial fertilization and larval development. Collecting viable broods from the river/sea is a limiting factor as the fish dies immediately after catching it (Pillay, 1955;Sahoo et al, 2016) (Bhanot & De, 1984;Milton, 2010;Rahman, Alam, Hasan, & Jaher, 2012;Sen, De, & Nath, 1990;Sharma, 1984). However, cage farming in Bangladesh holds great promise as 17,296 km 2 water bodies, such as the islands of Bhola-Manpura-Hatiya (Figure 10), are found suitable for hilsa grow-out in captivity by obtaining juveniles from wild .…”

Reimagining large-scale open-water fisheries governance through adaptive comanagement in hilsa shad sanctuaries

“…Hilsa contributes about 10.5% of the country's total fish production and 1.0% to the gross domestic product (Fisheries Resources Survey System (FRSS) 2017). Mome (2007) evaluates an average hilsa production of about 215 thousand tons at USD $380 million per year, but at current yields and market prices, estimated by Sahoo et al (2016) to be on average around USD $12 per kg, the actual market value may be at least ten times higher. Moreover, we note that estimate the fishery's nonconsumptive value to be in the order of USD $167.5 million to USD $355.7 million per year.…”

Catch Trend and Stock Assessment of Hilsa Tenualosa ilisha Using Digital Image Measured Length‐Frequency Data

“…Hilsa is the national fish of Bangladesh and is a highly popular food fish because of its special flavor, attractive appearance, and high socio-economic importance (Fischer and Bianchi 1984;Rahman 2007;Sahoo et al 2016). This species forms the single most important fishery in Bangladesh, which directly employs about 0.45 million people and indirectly about 2.5 million people (Wahab and Golder 2016) and has an estimated nonconsumptive value between US$167.5 million and $355.7 million per annum .…”