ABSTRACT
Hilsa (Tenualosa ilisha) is an anadromous fish, distributed throughout coastal regions from the Mekong estuary of Vietnam to the Persian Gulf (Pillay and Rosa, 1963). The Bay of Bengal is the major producing region for this species, from where it migrates to the rivers Padma, Meghna and its tributaries for breeding and nursing (Rahman, 2006). Among other species of the genus Hilsa and Tenualosa, this species ilisha makes up 99 per cent of total hilsa catches in the Bay of Bengal region (Rahman et al., 2012a). It was the most dominant single species in the Ganges river system in the pre-Farakka period until the middle of the 1970s. The availability of hilsa is now mostly centred in the Meghna estuary, the Padma River and some coastal areas of Bangladesh. It is commercially exploited in India andMyanmar as well (Milton, 2010). About 60 per cent of the total catch of hilsa within the Bay of Bengal region is harvested by Bangladesh, and the remainder caught by Myanmar and India. Hilsa constitutes 11 per cent of the total 2.9 million metric tonnes fish production of Bangladesh (Rahman et al., 2012a). Hilsa alone makes up 1.0 per cent of the GDP and contributes a considerable amount to foreign exchange earnings. About 287,000 fishermen are directly dependent on the hilsa fishery for their livelihood and about 2.0-2.5 million people are involved in different activities throughout the value chain, such as in transportation, marketing, processing and other post-harvest activities (ibid.). It is the favourite fish of the people of Bangladesh and West Bengal (in India) and considered as a fish of religious and cultural importance, and part of Bengali festivals. Hilsa has been recognized as the ‘National Fish’ of Bangladesh. The unique taste of hilsa has been attributed mainly to the presence of signifi-
cant quantities of fatty acids such as stearic acid, oleic acid and many polyunsaturated fatty acids (Nath and Banerjee, 2012). The amount of fat in hilsa ranges from 22 per cent to 36 per cent of the weight of fish muscle. In addition to its highly desired flavour, hilsa is also rich in omega-3 PUFAs, proteins and minerals, and is thus quite a nutritious fish (Mohanty, 2011). A 100 g hilsa contains 22.0 g protein, 19.5 g fat, 180 mg calcium and 250 mg phosphorus along with other nutrients. Besides fatty acids, hilsa is also rich in amino acids. Micronutrients present in hilsa play a major role in the metabolic activity of the human body, by serving as
co-factors of enzymes. The minerals of hilsa muscle are highly ‘bioavailable’, meaning that they are easily absorbed in the human body. The high nutritional value, special taste and culinary properties of hilsa amply justify the popular Bengali saying that ‘macher raja ilish’, meaning ‘hilsa is the king of fish’. Hence, its historical significance to food and nutrition security of Bangladeshi men, women and children is enormous. Hilsa also has some medicinal benefits, as the extracts from hilsa are used in the
pharmaceutical industry. Polyunsaturated omega-3 fatty acids (PUFAs) EPA and DHA especially obtained from fish oil are reported to confer various nutrition and health benefits in addressing coronary heart disease, stroke, hypertension, cardiac arrhythmias, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, brain and photoreception development, cancer and depression. Hilsa also has some cultural and religious significance in the South Asian region.
Fishing of hilsa is prevalently based on experiences passed from generation to generation and may be considered as hereditary. Traditional knowledge is the key to hilsa fishery – knowledge of fishing grounds, seasonality, tidal influx and lunar periodicity is transferred from one generation of fishermen to the next. The people of Bangladesh and West Bengal, India as well as Bengali-speaking
people throughout the world love fish and they like to identify themselves with the phrase ‘Mache Bhate Bengali’, or ‘rice and fish make the Bengali’. Among the rich bio-diversity of the Ganges river system, hilsa holds the highest position in this part of the world, and its importance has been further accelerated through the development of different menu preparations and their use in various occasions related to ceremonial festivals such as pre-marriage events, wedding ceremonies, Bengali New year (‘Pahela Boyshakh’) and other religious festivals, especially among the Hindu communities. Thus, hilsa is important socially, culturally and religiously to the Bengali people in erstwhile undivided Bengal and in many other Indian states such as Orissa, Bihar and Assam. The cultural importance of hilsa in this region is documented by several historians. In some Hindu Bengali families, large hilsa fish are bought for the special engage-
ment programme and pre-marriage ceremony. Hilsa may also be included in the wedding ceremonymenu. An important occasion is the ‘Jamai Sashti’, when the sonin-law visits the house of his prospective parents-in-law; he is invariably fed with dishes prepared with hilsa. A Jamai Sashtimeal is never complete without at least one dish of hilsa, and a pair of hilsa is considered very auspicious on certain occasions. The parents-in-law often expect that the bridegroomwill bring a pair of hilsa fish for the Jamai Sashti occasion (Benoy K. Barman, pers. comm., 20 August 2012). Pohela Boishakh, the first day of the Bengali New Year, is ceremonially observed
in both Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal as a national day. Bengali communities celebrate Pohela Boishakh every year with a special menu of ‘PantaIlish’ (fermented rice and fried hilsa) taken for morning breakfast. This programme is observed through mass participation in all parts of Bangladesh; the largest gathering takes place under the historic large Banyan tree of Ramna Park in Dhaka (Khatun, Fahmida, pers. comm., 10 September 2012). Hilsa is thus considered as the ‘cultural icon of Bengal’.
