A fish called hilsa

According to the Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute (bfri), an autonomous organisation under the mofl, pollution is largely responsible for the decrease in the brood capacity of adult hilsa from over 1 million during the 1980s to about 0.7 million between 1992 and 1998. It points out that almost all industrial units, hospitals and civic bodies of the country release untreated effluents into the rivers. Oil spilled from ships and boats also causes pollution. Besides, nearly 2,750 tonnes of pesticides used for agriculture are washed into the rivers annually. bfri's research also establishes that chemical pollution has drastically decreased the amount of plankton, hilsa 's staple food, in rivers.

Apart from pollution, excessive and indiscriminate fishing presents a frightful scenario. About 32 per cent fisherfolk catch fish the entire year; the others do it seasonally. Adult hilsa entering Bangladesh's rivers from the Bay of Bengal is netted during its upstream migration. This problem is especially acute in the case of southern rivers. The jatka is also caught while it is in the freshwater and during its downstream movement in the Meghna river system. All the fisherfolk interviewed in the cnrs study were unanimous in their opinion that jatka harvest had a major role in the decrease in hilsa population. Even as they denied catching jatka themselves, they claimed to have seen them in "other fishermen's nets". Some held the steep rise in the number of fisherfolk as another reason for the decline. Besides, they said natural factors like siltation and accretion of islands, which reduces the spawning ground, had hastened the downtrend.

A change in the fishing pattern is also believed to have contributed to the crisis. Earlier, only members of a particular community comprised fisherfolk. As per their traditional belief, they didn't fish during a particular period that coincided with the fish's breeding season. But now even other communities are catching the hilsa , and they don't follow this practice.

Meanwhile, the Bangladesh government has finally started taking some measures to save the hilsa . The coastguard has been deployed at 15 river points -- including some islands in the estuary of Bay of Bengal such as Monpura, Dhalarchar, Kallarchar and Moulabarirchar -- to prevent the netting of the jatka. G C Haldar, an expert in hilsa management, has been quoted as saying: "We still have a chance to save the fish, but it is essential to keep our rivers healthy. Further, an effective moratorium on netting small fish is a must." But many others are of the view that the crisis cannot be resolved unless a special ' hilsa area' is developed. This should include Chandpur, Shariatpur, Barisal, Laxmipur, Bhola, Chittagong, Pirojpur, Barguna, Noakhali, Patuakhai and Khulna districts. They also recommend special measures for managing and developing hilsa resources.