Hilsa Fishery Management and Sustainability in Coastal Ecosystems

Hilsa shad (Tenualosa ilisha) represents one of the most valuable anadromous fisheries in South Asia, underpinning coastal livelihoods, cultural identity and regional food security. Its complex life cycle spans estuarine nurseries, freshwater spawning grounds and offshore feeding areas, making management inherently transboundary. Over the past two decades, surging demand, habitat alteration and climate-driven changes in salinity and productivity have exerted mounting pressure on hilsa stocks. In response, countries bordering the Bay of Bengal have adopted a suite of measures: seasonal fishing bans aligned with spawning peaks, minimum legal sizes to protect first-time spawners, gear regulations to reduce juvenile by-catch, and community-based sanctuaries. An ecosystem-based approach now integrates remote-sensing of environmental drivers, stock assessment models and socioeconomic incentives to reconcile conservation objectives with fisher welfare. Emerging strategies emphasise adaptive co-management, payments for ecosystem services and habitat restoration, seeking to sustain hilsa populations while bolstering coastal resilience and equitable value-chain benefits.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Studies of nutritional composition have revealed significant variation in amino-acid and fatty-acid profiles across hilsa size classes, linking biochemical quality to sensory attributes and market value. Smaller juveniles exhibit elevated docosahexaenoic acid, whereas large brood fish accumulate higher levels of leucine and isoleucine, a finding that may inform selective harvesting policies and consumer education. Concurrent research has mapped decadal patterns of net primary productivity in the northern Bay of Bengal, identifying nutrient-rich zones in the Ganges–Brahmaputra–Meghna delta as critical feeding and spawning habitats. Seasonal peaks in phytoplankton abundance correspond closely with hilsa migratory influxes, underscoring the importance of protecting high-productivity hotspots in marine spatial planning and temporal closures.

Hilsa Fishery Management and Sustainability in Coastal Ecosystems publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in hilsa fishery management and sustainability in coastal ecosystems across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Gonadosomatic index (GSI): Ratio of gonad weight to total body weight, used to assess reproductive readiness.

Maximum sustainable yield (MSY): Largest long-term average catch that can be taken without impacting stock productivity.

Catch per unit effort (CPUE): Measure of fishery productivity expressed as catch divided by unit of fishing effort.

Anadromous: Life-history strategy of fish that migrate from marine to freshwater environments to spawn.

Net primary productivity: Rate at which photosynthetic organisms convert inorganic carbon into biomass, driving food web support.

References

1. Estimating peak breeding season, size at first maturity and variation in fecundity and egg-size at different sizes of Hilsa (Tenualosa ilisha). Heliyon (2023).
2. Multifaceted Linkages among Eco-Climatic Factors, Plankton Abundance, and Gonadal Maturation of Hilsa Shad, Tenualosa ilisha, Populations in Bangladesh. Climate (2024).
3. Payments for ecosystem services in developing world fisheries. Fish and Fisheries (2014).
4. Nutritional profiling of hilsa (Tenualosa ilisha) of different size groups and sensory evaluation of their adults from different riverine systems. Scientific Reports (2019).
5. Primary productivity connects hilsa fishery in the Bay of Bengal. Scientific Reports (2020).
6. Hilsa fishery management in Bangladesh. IOP Conference Series Earth and Environmental Science (2020).