Hilsa dishes are at stake...!!!

Some of the most delicious Bengali dishes are under threat.

  Not because of the skyrocketing price of cooking gas. Not even because we are reluctant to invest price, time or energy (despite busy life and growing expense) to try out different recipes to satisfy our taste buds.

  But because Hilsa, the wonder fish that has become an inseparable part of Bengali culture and cuisine, is now facing extinction.

  Overfishing of Hilsa is indeed a threat the fish species has been under for quite a long time. According to the world’s catch statistics, around 90% of the total Hilsa harvest is reported in three south Asian countries – India, Bangladesh and Myanmar. Bangladesh, part of erstwhile undivided India, is topping the chart with 50% harvest, followed by India (25%), as the harvest from the Indo-Bangladesh estuary, especially from the River Padma, is in high demand not only in the sub-continent but abroad as well.

  However, yearly Hilsa catch has significantly come down in the last 30 years, making it dearer to buy with every passing season. Sometimes Hilsa has made the foodies shell out even Rs. 1,500 to Rs. 2,000 for single kg. Take the example of Kolkata, a major Hilsa market in eastern India -- a 50% drop in Hilsa supply was reported last year.

  But why the extinction threat…!!!

  By nature, Hilsa is a resident of sea for most part of its life but migrates more than 1,000 km inland through the major river estuaries during their breeding seasons following which they again return to their original habitat, if not caught. However, that is not the concern.

  The newborns (“Khoka Ilish”), before approaching the sea, where they spend their adulthood, stay in the lower opening of the river estuaries for a few months and are caught in numbers by the fishermen, thanks to a widening gap between market demand and supply. As increasing number of young members of the fish community fail to reach their adulthood every season, the reproductive cycles also get cut and so the overall number of fully grown fishes able to reproduce nosedives.

  The situation has turned grimmer over the decades. Lack of sound regulatory mechanism to stop the fishermen target the schools of juvenile Hilsha during the breeding period has played havoc and now the experts fear that unless fishing is restricted, if not stopped altogether, during the breeding seasons, the fish species could be wiped out from the planet, and we would have to visit the museums to remember Hilsa and replace the recipes the Bengali has been cherishing.

  Hope of a turnaround is there though.

  In an unexpected turn of event, the United Kingdom-based policy research body International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) has received monetary grant worth more than 1.5 crores in Indian currency from Britain’s Darwin Initiative to find ways to protect Hilsa from the threat of overfishing.

  “We started the conservation project in April this year in Bangladesh. In two years, we will involve India and Myanmar. Hilsa colony numbers are plummeting. If fishing does not stop during breeding season, the species faces extinction,” Dr Essam Yassin, the lead project officer from IIED, was quoted by a national daily as saying recently.

  Last year, the International Trans-boundary Policy Dialogue on Hilsa Fisheries Management between Bangladesh and India, organised by International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and India’s Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute (CIFRI) underlined the importance of maintaining flow of freshwater in the region’s estuaries and associated mangrove ecosystems for sustainable Hilsa fisheries.

  Now, discussion and contemplation are something that often stay far off the ground level implementation. Nothing but a multi-pronged approach would be able to handle the situation.

On one hand, we can use modern technologies like remote sensing and satellite imaging to stop the fishermen from throwing nets on the juvenile members of the fish species during the breeding seasons. On the other hand, some timely and serious initiative to spread awareness among the fishermen is a need of the hour.

  But why should they listen to such an advice at the cost of extra income…?? The answer lies in convincing and not forcing after all.

  The financially poor fishermen, who spend days after days on fishing trawlers away from their families frustrated and hoping for some good catches and better profit margin, would be convinced to do the extra bit only when they are provided with alternative ways of income that would help them in monetary terms. So, I guess, it is time for some innovative thinking…

  There are scores of recommendations regarding the matter.

  A recent study, The Importance of Migratory and Spawning Patterns for the Conservation of Hilsa in Bangladesh and India, has found that most of the juveniles start downstream migration during the months from March to May. The study also advises India to follow the policy of its eastern neighbour, which restricts the usage of bag and scoop nets for Hilsa catching below a certain level, in order to ensure smooth migration of the juveniles to the sea. The study also recommended targeted dredging along the Hooghly-Bhagirathi river systems, besides the Padma-Meghna, to maintain proper water flow and thus ensure smooth Hilsa migration.

  So, we need to be proactive before it’s too late and the Hilsa fails to continue with its magic in our kitchens...