The adult hilsa requires a minimum spawning stock (fish mature enough to release eggs) of 32 to 33 percent for the conservation of the species; the stocks off the coast of West Bengal, which now hover around 27 to 28 percent need to improve urgently.
“If appropriate measures aren't taken now, then it (hilsa) would go extinct after sometime,” Debasis De, Principal Scientist and Officer-in-Charge of Central Institute of Brackish Aquaculture's Kakdwip Research Centre, in South 24 Paraganas district, West Bengal told DH.
The Hilsa, which is relished by Bengalis both in West Bengal and Bangladesh, is struggling for survival due to excessive harvesting, especially by large mechanised trawlers.
The state government figures show that the hilsa catch in Bengal has been on a downward trend and dropped from 80,000 tonnes in 2001 to 26,000 tonnes in 2017 — a decline of 67%.
A 2018 study, published by the National Academy of Sciences, India found that between 2002 and 2015, the number of boats engaged in fishing the hilsa increased by 25% but the net catch in the period actually decreased by 13%. The maximum sustainable yield for hilsa is estimated to be 25,440 tonnes per year, with 3,987 boats deployed to catch the fish.
“It can be inferred that the hilsa fishery in the North Bay of Bengal is being unsustainably exploited,” stated the research paper.
The data assumes significance as estimates by the International Water Association states that nearly 70% of the revenue from fishing in West Bengal comes from hilsa. About 25,000 fishermen in West Bengal are dependent on hilsa for their livelihood.
To top it off, the hilsa catch this year has taken a hit, contrary to expectations of a good haul following the lockdown. “The catch of big trawler owners in the state who usually sell about Rs 50 lakh worth hilsa has also decreased,” said S K Dubey, an independent researcher and scientist.
However, West Bengal Fisheries Minister Chandra Nath Sinha said that the low catch this year can be attributed to the nationwide lockdown and bad weather.