ICAR-CIFRI tags Hilsa Broodfishes

ICAR-CIFRI Barrackpore has ranched 586 of Hilsa Broodfish in the upstream of Farakka barrage for improving the Hilsa Fisheries

The ICAR-Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute, Barrackpore has ranched 586 of Hilsa Broodfish in the upstream of Farakka barrage for improving the Hilsa Fisheries in the middle stretches of the River Ganga. The initiative was carried out under the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), Ministry of Jal Shakti, and Government of India during the month of September to October, 2019.

 During the process, a total of 372 fishes out of 586 Hilsa were tagged with a size range 223mm to 345 mm with Floy T-bar Anchor Tags of standard size with serial numbers printed. The tagged fishes were observed and showed fully active during the release indicating the suitability of the tags used. 

The main objective of the tagging is to understand the current migration pattern of Hilsa Broodfish in the middle stretches of the River Ganga, particularly, from the Farakka to the Prayagraj (Allahabad) and above, under the background of current non-functional of Fish pass existing in the Farakka barrage.

 Simultaneously, the ICAR-CIFRI team created the awareness among the fishermen on the reporting of tagged Hilsa and Hilsa conservation from Farakka to Prayagraj, all along the River Ganga namely Sultanganj, Rajmahal, Bhagalpur, Patna, Buxar, Balia, Varanasi, and Prayagraj covering the states of West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh.

 The fishermen were distributed the information on Hilsa Life Story and Leaflets on Hilsa Conservation for future in Hindi and Bengali for better understanding on the work activities. The team is carrying out the detailed activities under the guidance of Dr. B.K. Das, Director, ICAR-CIFRI.

 During the Year – 1962, the ICAR-CIFRI conducted the Hilsa tagging for the first time at Allahabad, Varanasi and Buxar with an objective on understanding the migratory behavior of the Hilsa.

 Further, the recent studies recorded that the Hilsa congregation in large number below the barrage and forming a good fishery ground. Therefore, the ranching and tagging of Hilsa Broodfish would support the current understanding on the Hilsa migration pattern after the Year – 1975.

 Accordingly, the policy decision could be taken to see the possibility of re-establishing/designing of fish passes or exploring other possibilities for upstream migration ensuring Hilsa fisheries improvement in the middle stretches of the River Ganga.