Is the delicious hilsa (ilishi) on its way outIJ A drastic drop in the catch of hilsa has brought into sharp focus the endangered State of the sea fish. With the yield not encouraging this time, the price has shot through the roof making the fish out of reach of the common people.
One can rarely find hilsa in the fish markets of Kendrapadra now-a-days. A kg of hilsa is selling at as high as Rs 1,400-1,500 in Paradip, informed, Orissa Fishermen Federation president Narayan Haldar.
"The drop in the yield is unprecedented. Never before, had hilsa catch fallen to such a low level. Those who had pinned their hopes on bountiful catch are left thoroughly disappointed this time," he informed.
A few years back, at this time of the year, Kendrapada, Jagatasinghpur and its nearby fish markets were flooded with basketful of silvery hilsa. But now, hilsa has become a rare sight in the fish market. The fishermen are going to sea to catch fish, especially for catching hilsa, as it is the right time for catch. But hardly have the fishermen been able to catch hilsa at sea. As a result, the hilsa rate is high.
The hilsa's peculiar habitat makes it impossible to breed the fish artificially through aquaculture, unlike other fish. The adult hilsa swims several km upstream to freshwater from the sea for spawning and returns to saline water after that the eggs hatch in freshwater. The sub-adult hilsa flows back downstream into the sea, a process that takes a few months. Generally, during the low pressure, the fishermen generally catch abundant hilsa at the confluence of river mouth of Mahanadi and the Bay of Bengal. But, this year in the ongoing monsoon season ,the rain is playing hide and sick and low pressure rain has not occurred enough on this coastal part, so the hilsa catch has reduced a lot, stated Additional Director of Fishery (Marine), Kujanga Biraja Prasanna Mohapatra.
"The fishermen dispose of their yield through auction in the Paradip fishing harbour. While nearly 10-15 per cent catch is sold off in local markets of Paradip civil township, Kujang, Kendrapada and Jagatsinghpur, the bulk of the produce is dispatched to other parts of the State. The hilsa supply to West Bengal,
mainly Kolkata, has almost come to a grinding halt this year, solely due to lack of hilsa catch in the sea," said Maa Ramchandi Boat Owner's Association president Anatha Bandhu Das.