Bangladesh’s hilsa are getting smaller, a Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute (BFRI) scientist told a seminar during Jatka Conservation Week (7-13 April 2026), The Daily Star reported.
The data
Senior scientific officer Mohammad Ashraful Alam presented data showing average hilsa length of 35.7cm in FY2019-20 and FY2020-21, rising to 37.0cm in FY22 and 37.2cm in FY23, then falling to 36.6cm, 34.7cm and 34.0cm in FY24, FY25 and FY26. He attributed the decline to overfishing, illegal nets and the catching of juvenile hilsa, or jatka, which reduce average size and egg production. Hilsa from Cox’s Bazar were the largest (38.5cm, 780g on average) and those from Rajshahi, confined to rivers, the smallest (29cm, 340g).
What officials said
Fisheries Minister Mohammad Aminur Rashid called the hilsa shortage a nationwide problem and urged scientists to raise production. State Minister Sultan Salahuddin Tuku said fully stopping jatka fishing would significantly increase output. The seminar’s theme was “Stop catching jatka, and rivers and seas will be full of hilsa.”
Context
Hilsa is Bangladesh’s national fish and is protected by seasonal bans, including the 22-day breeding-season ban in October. Earlier data from the Department of Marine Fisheries showed hilsa landings by commercial trawlers falling 78 per cent between FY23 and FY25.
Sources
- The Daily Star: “Bangladesh getting smaller hilsa due to aggressive fishing” (April 2026)
File photo: hilsa fish. Photo: Zaheed Sarwer Khan / CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
This article was prepared by Maritime News BD from the report(s) and documents listed above; it was not independently reported by Maritime News BD.
