Tenualosa ilisha
No common name
Collection Details
Specimens
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Clupeiformes (Herrings, Anchovies and Sardines)
Clupeidae (Herrings)
Tenualosa
Tenualosa ilisha
Description
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Characters
Body shape: fusiform / normal. Belly with 30 to 33 scutes. Distinct median notch in upper jaw. Gill rakers fine and numerous, about 100 to 250 on lower part of arch. Fins hyaline. A dark blotch behind gill opening, followed by a series of small spots along flank in juveniles. Color in life, silver shot with gold and purple. Striking features: none.
Distribution
Indian Ocean: Persian Gulf eastward to Myanmar, including western and eastern coasts of India. Reported from the Gulf of Tonkin, Viet Nam (Ref. 9706). Reported in Tigris River basin and probably other rivers of southern Iran (Ref. 39702).
Habitat Associations
Freshwater, brackish, marine. pelagic-neritic. Found in: streams, estuaries.
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 (Ref. 4832). Known to be a fast swimmer, covering 71 km in one day (Ref. 12203). Marketed fresh or dried-salted.
Max length: 60.0 cm SL; common length: 36.0 cm SL; max weight: 680 g; max age: 5 years.
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none. Breeds mainly in rivers, upstream to about 50 km or even over 1000 km as in the Ganges (younger fishes may breed in the tidal zone of rivers). In some rivers the migration is restricted by barrages; there is some evidence that hilsa far up the Ganges and other large rivers, although migrating upstream to spawn, are permanent river populations that do not descend to the sea. The main breeding season is during the southwest monsoon, with a shorter season from January to February or March.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2013-01-23. Resilience: Medium (K=0.3-1.2; tmax=5; tm=2; Fec=220,000).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: minor commercial; aquaculture: experimental.
References
Whitehead, P.J.P. (1985) FAO Species Catalogue. Vol. 7. Clupeoid fishes of the world (suborder Clupeoidei). An annotated and illustrated catalogue of the herrings, sardines, pilchards, sprats, shads, anchovies and wolf-herrings. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(7/1):1-303. Rome: FAO.
Moula, G. (1992) Studies on some biological aspects of hilsa. Paper presented at the National Workshop on Hilsa Fishery Development and Management. Fisheries Research Institute, Riverine Station, Chandpur, February 1992. 12 p.
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