KENDRAPARA: Hilsa, the king of fish and jewel of the diner’s table, has gone scarce this season much to the disappointment of aficionados and the common man. The succulent fish has almost vanished from the menu as a sharp drop in catch has led to abnormal price rise in the district.Fresh Hilsa is now being sold at `1,000 a kg while smaller sizes are fetching a minimum of `700 per kg. One of the main reasons for dwindling Hilsa population is indiscriminate use of mosquito-gill net by the fishermen.
The nets are taking a heavy toll on the fish population as the juveniles are getting trapped and killed, said Joint Director (Marine) of Fisheries Pratap Rout.Construction of dams, barrages and anicuts over the rivers has also created an obstruction in migration of Hilsa resulting in sharp decline of the delicious fish. The fish species tends to migrate upstream into sweet water like rivers for spawning and also for better food availability.
However, increasing pollution coupled with drastic reduction in the water flow in the rivers like Mahanadi and its tributaries have disturbed the migratory pattern of the fish. Hilsa fish prefers around 25 metre deep water, Rout said.Two years back, the Central Agriculture Department had chalked out the National Plan of Action for Hilsa Fishery (NPAHF) to save the delicious fish in Odisha, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. It is yet to yield results.