Hilsa Fish Rs 200 A Plate At Nutanpally Food Court Bandra, a photo by firoze shakir photographerno1 on Flickr.
Hilsa or Ilish belongs to the species Tenualosa of the family Clupeidae, order Clupeiformes. Shad or Herring are a near relative of hilsa. Locally known as Ilish, the fish is an addiction of Bengalis especially to those who originated from Bangladesh. The body of hilsa is strongly compressed and moderately deep with dorsal and ventral profile equally convex.
The upper jaw hasa distinct central cut. Regularly arranged medium-sized scales gives a metallic silver shine. Body length may vary from 40 cm to 60 cm. A large-sized hilsa weighs about 2.5 kg. Hilsa is primarily a plankton feeder and feeds on blue-green algae,diatoms, desmids, copepods, cladocera, rotifers, etc. A change in season and age varies the feeding habit of the fish. Female hilsas grow faster, and are usually larger than males. The hilsa is known to be a fast swimmer and can cover even 60 kilometers at a time. It attains maturity in one to two years. Hilsa is a Pariah fish. Though basically a marine fish it thrives in estuarine and riverine environments. The fish is found in the Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal, Vietnam Sea and China Sea.
Their habitat covers the Satil Arab, and the Tigris and Euphrates of Iran and Iraq, the Indus of Pakistan, the rivers of Eastern India, the Irawaddy of Myanmar, and the Padma, Jamuna, Meghna, Karnafully and other coastal rivers of Bangladesh. It swims upstream as the inland stretches of these rivers are the breeding grounds for the fish. In West Bengal Hilsa is available in five regions - from Farakka to Konnagor, in the sweet water region; Konnagor to Diamondharbour, in the slope of Ganges; from Diamondharbour to Sandhead, in the distributaries region of Bay of Bengal. Besides hilsa is also available in Matla and Rupnarayan River.
article courtesy
www.bangalinet.com/ilish.htm
