Hilsa
| Tenualosa ilisha | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Clupeiformes |
| Family: | Clupeidae |
| Subfamily: | Alosinae |
| Genus: | Tenualosa |
| Species: | T. ilisha |
| Binomial name | |
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Tenualosa ilisha (F. Hamilton, 1822) |
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| Synonyms | |
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Tenualosa ilisha (ilish, hilsa, hilsa herring, or hilsa shad) is a species of fish in the herring family (Clupeidae), and a popular food fish in South Asia. The fish contributes about 12% of the total fish production and about 1% of GDP in Bangladesh. About 450,000 people are directly involved with the catching for livelihood; around four to five million people are indirectly involved with the trade. It is also the national fish of Bangladesh.
Other names include: ilish, ellis, palla fish, hilsha etc. Bengali: ইলিশ: ilish, Gujarati: મોદાર/પાલ્વા: Modar or Palva, Odia: ଇଲିଶି , Sindhī: پلو مڇي pallu machhi, Telugu: పులస: pulasa or polasa : Tamil - 'Ullam'. The ilish word is also used in India's Assamese, Bengali-, Odia- and Telugu-speaking regions and in Pakistan's Sindh province. In Iraq it is Called Sboor صبور. In Malaysia and Indonesia, it is commonly known as terubuk. Due to its unique features of oily and tender, some Malays call it 'terubuk UMNO'.
The fish is marine; freshwater; brackish; pelagic-neritic; anadromous; depth range ? - 200 m. Within a tropical range; 34°N - 5°N, 42°E - 97°E in marine and freshwater. It can grow up to 60 cm in length with weights of up to 3 kg. It is found in rivers and estuaries in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Burma and the Persian Gulf area where it can be found in the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in and around Iran and Iraq. It has no dorsal spines but 18 – 21 dorsal soft rays and anal soft rays. The belly has 30 to 33 scutes. There is a distinct median notch in upper jaw. Gill rakers fine and numerous, about 100 to 250 on lower part of arch and the fins are hyaline. The fish shows a dark blotch behind gill opening, followed by a series of small spots along the flank in juveniles. Color in life, silver shot with gold and purple. The species filter feeds on plankton and by grubbing muddy bottoms. The fish schools in coastal waters and ascends up the rivers (anadromous) for around 50 – 100 km to spawn during the South West monsoons (June to September) and also in January to April . April is the most fertile month for breeding of ilish. The young fish returning to the sea are known in Bangladesh as jatka, which includes any ilish fish up to 9 inches long.
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Wikipedia