Published : 08 Aug 2026, 06:59 AM
Updated : 08 Sep 2026, 09:31 AM
For several years, even during the peak season, hilsa fish has been selling for high prices. According to everyone from fishermen to fish scientists, this is because Bangladesh’s national fish is facing various dangers.
According to some, the hilsa’s migration route is narrowing. Others speak about the destruction of the fish’s fry. Another explanation points to the diminishing of the fish’s food sources.
The effects of climate change, river pollution, loss of river navigability, and not allowing hilsa to complete its life cycle have also been cited.
While some researchers point to one or two major reasons for the decrease in production, this is not the case – the cause of the downward trend is multi-faceted.
It will take concerted effort on various fronts to overcome the situation. A focus on research is necessary, as is the implementation of proper laws. The list of fishermen must be updated and incentives must be provided to them as necessary. Hilsa breeding grounds must be protected. Some experts have even suggested focusing on artificial breeding and taking joint initiatives with India and Myanmar.
National Fish ‘Gets Smaller’
Fishermen and fisheries scientists say that not only is the production of hilsa decreasing, but the average size of the fish is also getting smaller.
Nazim Ahmed, a fisherman at the Mahipur Fisheries Port in Kuakata, told bdnews24.com: “At one time, even the smaller hilsa weighed half a kilogram. Now, we only catch small hilsa. You need six to get up to a kilogram.”
Liton, a fisherman on the Sitakunda coast of Chattogram, said: “In the past, hilsa fry were not killed in the sea. But, as the fish population decreased, hilsa fry were also caught to cover the cost of fishing.”
He believes that this is why large hilsa are on the decline.
Researchers say that a hilsa fish takes one to two years to mature. If a fry lives for a year, its size reaches 11.81 inches. If it lives for five to seven years, it can grow to more than 22 inches.
Hilsa researcher and former director of the Fisheries Science Institute Anisur Rahman told bdnews24.com: “Not only has the overall production been decreasing over the past two years, but the quantity of large-sized hilsa has also decreased.
“At one time, the average size of hilsa was 400 to 450 grams. Now it has come down to 300 to 350 grams.”
A study by the Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute has shown that the average size of hilsa caught in the 2022-23 fiscal year was 14.65 inches. In the latest fiscal year, 2025-26, this has decreased to 13.39 inches.
The smallest hilsa caught on average is in the Rajshahi district at 11.42 inches. The largest hilsa is found in Cox's Bazar at an average of 15.16 inches.
The report gives its own reasoning for the smaller average size of the fish.
"The diet of hilsa includes 27 species of plant-like plankton (zooplankton) and 12 species of animal-like plankton (phytoplankton). The amount of these plankton has decreased by 68 percent in the Meghna River. The main reason for this is river pollution."
The study was conducted by Mohammad Ashraful Alam, chief scientific officer of the Fisheries Research Institute.
He said, "The plankton, which is the food required for hilsa in the estuaries of the Padma and Meghna, has decreasing alarmingly. This is also affecting the size of hilsa. Hilsa are not growing fast and fishermen are catching them before they grow.”
Kishore Kumar Sarkar, a teacher at the College of Fisheries and Life Sciences at Shanghai Ocean University in China, says that there is a different reason for the smaller size of the hilsa.
He told bdnews24.com, “The average temperature has increased in the last few decades due to climate change. Many studies have shown that it has a huge impact on the size of fish. This impact should be quite significant for highly sensitive fish like migratory fish, which roam in both rivers and seas, and also wetlands to maintain the continuity of their life cycle.
“In addition, the decrease in navigability in the upstream sections of the Bay of Bengal, especially in the migration channels or routes along which hilsa enters the river from the sea or return from the river to the sea, is seriously disrupting the normal movement of hilsa. This is disrupting the normal life cycle of the hilsa.”
Mohammad Alam, a senior fisheries officer of Hijla Upazila in Barishal, says the reason for the small size of hilsa and the decline in production is that “the life cycle of the hilsa is not complete and so large hilsa are not available. This is because it takes at least one and a half years for a hilsa to weigh one to one and a half kilograms.”
He told bdnews24.com, “After the eggs hatch in the river and give birth to the young, the hilsa grow up a little in fresh water before going to the sea. There, they grow further (400 to 500 grams) and come to the river to lay eggs. They return to the sea after laying their eggs. After growing again, they return to the river once more.
“But currently, due to excessive fishing, the life cycle cannot be completed. The fry is caught in the river. If they escape the river and go to the sea estuary, they become prey for trawling ships. Due to this there are less fish and you can’t find the larger ones.”
Alam also said that incentives for fishermen are not distributed properly.
“There is also a problem of not being able to update the list of fishermen for 14-15 years,” he said.
“Most of the incentives for fishermen are distributed due to political influence. Due to the lack of an updated list, 70 to 80 percent of fishermen are deprived of incentives.”
Production Down for Two Years
The Department of Fisheries is implementing a five-year project called “Hilsa Resource Development and Management” to increase the production of hilsa. This project worth Tk 2.29 billion started in July 2021 and was completed this June.
The main objective of this project was to implement the Fisheries Conservation Act to conserve mother hilsa and fish fry, increase the production of Hilsa through sanctuary management, and create alternative employment opportunities for the families of 30,000 fishermen who harvest fish fry and mother hilsa.
Former director of the Department of Fisheries’ hilsa project, Molla Emdadullah said: “The problem is that the hilsa conservation activities were river-centric. There was no activity in the sea.
“Hilsa is being overfished in the sea. On the other hand, the navigability crisis in the rivers has increased. There isn’t as much water in the rivers as there used to be. As a result, the migration route of the hilsa has been affected. To protect the hilsa in the sea, six areas including Nijhum Island and the Naf River have been declared sanctuaries. Those sanctuaries have not been effectively protected.”
According to the Department of Fisheries, when the project was taken up in July 2021, the annual production of hilsa was 550,000 tonnes. Production increased slightly over the next two fiscal years. But, after that, production decreased over the past two fiscal years. In 2024-25, the amount stood at 504,000 tonnes.
In 2023-24, the number was 529,000 tonnes. It was 571,000 tonnes in 2022-23. This means country's hilsa harvest has decreased by a total of 71,000 tonnes in the two years.
Although the official figures for the 2025-26 fiscal year are not available, officials say that production in the fiscal year was less than 500,000 tonnes.
Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Livestock Mohammed Amin Ur Rashid Yasin has also spoken about the country’s decline in hilsa production.
At a programme in Chandpur last April, he said: "At one time, there was a lot of hilsa production in Bangladesh, but later, due to various reasons, production declined. Hilsa production in the country has decreased."
Anisur sees the lack of enforcement of the law as the reason for the decline in production.
He said, “After the July Uprising, there were many exceptions in the implementation of laws and regulations. If there are exceptions to the rules and regulations one year, production does not immediately decrease. The next year, the results are negative. Apart from that, production can decrease for many other reasons.”
Why are Prices Increasing?
The Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission (BTTC) conducted a survey last year to determine the reasons for the increase in the price of hilsa in the market.
The survey report highlighted several issues. These include the increase in the cost of fishing, storing stock in cold storage and selling it at a high price later, export permits, and a two-thirds decrease in the amount of hilsa in the river estuary.
The report also highlighted that a hilsa fish can change hands four to six times before reaching the consumer as the price increases by 60 percent each time.
This week, a hilsa weighing approximately 1-1.5kg was selling for Tk 2,600 or more at Dhaka's Karwan Bazar.
According to the BTTC survey report, in August 2025, the price of 1-1.5kg fish was Tk 2,500-600. A hilsa weighing more than 1.5kg was selling for Tk 2,800-3,000 per kg.
According to the report, the price per kilogram at the same weight was Tk 1,600-1,800 in August 2024.
Abdul Bari Manik Jamadar, president of the Chandpur Fisheries Merchants Association, said that in other years, 1,000-1,500 maunds of hilsa were bought and sold every day around this time of year.
“This time, not even 100 maunds of hilsa are coming to the market every day. The price has increased due to reduced supply.”
What is the Future of Hilsa?
Kishore Kumar Sarkar, a teacher at Shanghai Ocean University, said that there was once a fish in China called the “Chinese shad” that was similar to hilsa and had exactly the same biological characteristics. But, due to extensive fishing in the Yangtze River in China at one time, the fish disappeared in the 1990s.
“It would not be surprising if this happened to the hilsa as well,” he said.
Asked for the reason for his concern, Kishore said: “On the one hand, the rate of entry to the breeding grounds has decreased and a large number of mother hilsa are caught. And on the other hand, they become capable of reproduction at an early age, which can lead to a ‘cascade effect’, which will create a risk of extinction in the future.”
However, Dr Anisur Rahman does not have the same worries as Kishore.
“No, no. I do not think there is such a severe crisis yet,” he said.
‘Joint Efforts of Three Countries Needed’
Fish scientists are looking for a single solution to the issues of hilsa reproduction and size.
Anisur Rahman believes that many factors are involved in hilsa production.
He said, “Many say that hilsa only increase when there is more rainfall. Many say that hilsa will increase if the fish fry is protected. Many say that hilsa will increase if there is more opportunity to lay eggs. It is also said that hilsa will decrease due to the effects of climate change.
“In fact, all of them have an adverse effect on the overall production in stages. Now, the more these can be controlled, the more the production dynamics remain normal.”
Emphasising the importance of research, Anisur said: “Good research needs to be done on why the average size is getting smaller, why production is decreasing.
“The existing rules and regulations for conservation need to be supplemented with some updated issues. What is more important is to change the law and implement that law properly.”
However, Kishore says that artificial reproduction should be emphasised to increase production.
He said, “To increase production, it is necessary to ensure a sustainable stock. Along with this, the government authorities should immediately focus on the artificial reproduction of hilsa. India has already come a long way. As far as I know, joint initiatives between Myanmar and China are also under way. They are very likely on the verge of successful artificial reproduction.”
As for other steps, Kishore said: “More Hilsa sanctuaries should be identified using molecular technology and strict monitoring should be maintained on them. Net sizes should be controlled so that fish smaller than a certain size are not caught. The navigability crisis should also be resolved.”
Hilsa is widespread in the wetlands of Bangladesh, India, and Myanmar, and there is a huge demand for it in all three countries. Therefore, Kishore believes that coordinated efforts by these three countries to protect the highly prized fish are also important.
