Hilsa shad (Tenualosa ilisha)

Scientific name: Tenualosa ilisha Hamilton, 1822

Hilsa shad (Tenualosa ilisha)

The Hilsa shad (Tenualosa ilisha) is a freshwater fish of the family Clupeidae.

Biology

Schooling in coastal waters and ascending rivers for as much as 1200 km (usually 50-100 km). Migration though is sometimes restricted by barrages. Hilsa far up the Ganges and other large rivers seem to be permanent river populations. Feeds on plankton, mainly by filtering, but apparently also by grubbing on muddy bottoms. Breeds mainly in rivers during the southwest monsoon (also from January to February to March). Artificial propagation has been partially successful in India. Known to be a fast swimmer, covering 71 km in one day. Marketed fresh or dried-salted.

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name
Tenualosa ilisha
Family
Clupeidae (Herrings, shads and sardines)
Order
Clupeiformes (Herrings)
Class
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length
60.0
Common length
42
Depth range
200 m (656 ft)
Environment
Marine; freshwater; brackish; pelagic-neritic; anadromous; depth range ? - 200 m
Climate
Tropical
Distribution
Indian Ocean: Persian Gulf eastward to Myanmar, including western and eastern coasts of India. Reported from the Gulf of Tonkin, Viet Nam. Reported in Tigris River basin and probably other rivers of southern Iran.
Conservation status (IUCN)
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Harmless
Uses
Fisheries: minor commercial; aquaculture: experimental
Resilience
High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (K=0.5-1.2; Fec=220,000)

Sources

Taxonomy, distribution and biology data: FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds.), licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

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