Status of Hilsa Fishery in Hooghly-Bhagirathi River System and Associated Coastal Waters of Northern Bay of Bengal

Hilsa, Tenualosa ilisha, is a popular fish in northern Bay of Bengal and Hooghly-Bhagirathi river system in India. Despite the high commercial and cultural importance of the species in the region, data on its catch status and fishing effort are highly fragmentary and, sometimes, not reliable as these have not been systematically gathered. By adopting ‘Stratified Multistage Random Sampling’ method, mostly followed for marine fish catch estimation, with modifications to suit the nature of inland fish landings and migratory habit of the species, the annual catch of hilsa in Hooghly-Bhagirathi river system and associated coastal waters in northern Bay of Bengal was estimated for four consecutive years, from 2013 to 2016, as 16,318 t, 45,615 t 12,192 t and 48,922 t, respectively. The catch thus estimated was validated by comparing it with the daily catch data collected by enumerators for three months each during fishing seasons in the first two years from two locations. The catch, seasonality, CPUE and the fishing gear and crafts used were recorded. Comparison of the estimated catch of hilsa with the earlier reported catches indicated that the commercial fisheries of the fish in the Hooghly-Bhagirathi river system have seriously declined, highlighting the compelling need for conservation of the species and managing its fishery.