Gujarat's Narmada Hilsa Catch Hits Four-Year Record as Breeding Shifts

Gujarat has recorded its highest hilsa production in four years, with the prized fish increasingly appearing in the Narmada river rather than its traditional strongholds in the Ganga-Hooghly system of West Bengal and Bangladesh.

State fisheries data show total hilsa production reached 14,587.72 metric tonnes in 2025-26. That marks a sharp recovery from 8,209.48 metric tonnes in 2023-24 and 8,535.75 metric tonnes in 2024-25, and edges past the 14,198.98 metric tonnes recorded in 2022-23.

The turnaround is most visible in inland waters. Inland hilsa production jumped from 123.62 metric tonnes in 2024-25 to 4,645.99 metric tonnes in 2025-26.

Bharuch district alone accounted for 7,410.09 metric tonnes — about 51 per cent of the state's total — split between 2,949.76 metric tonnes of marine hilsa and 4,460.33 metric tonnes of inland hilsa.

Researchers attribute the shift to environmental factors. Hilsa is an anadromous migratory fish that spends most of its life at sea but moves into freshwater rivers to breed. RB Vala and AM Parmar, assistant professors at the College of Fisheries Science, Kamdhenu University, Gandhinagar, said the Ganga-Hooghly system was once a primary breeding ground, but the Farakka Barrage, growing construction on rivers, altered river depths, pollution and climate change have disrupted traditional migration and breeding areas.

In Gujarat, the mixing of fresh and salt water in the estuary near Bharuch, along the lower stretch of the Narmada, has created conditions suited to the fish. Nutrient-rich water flowing into the sea during the monsoon is also seen as a contributing factor.

The boom has brought relief to fishing communities along the river, where more than 25,000 fishermen depend on the four-month monsoon hilsa season. Good catches have been reported from the Hansot, Dahej and Bhadbhut areas.

Fishermen described the season as unprecedented. Ramesh Machhi of Bharuch said the volume of hilsa arriving at Bhadbhut had eased pressure on families, while Suresh Machhi, from a neighbouring village, said demand from Kolkata had lifted household incomes and restored a measure of financial security to the community.

Traders said around 250 tonnes of hilsa are sent from Bharuch district to markets in Kolkata and Howrah each season, as local demand remains limited.

Hilsa is the national fish of Bangladesh and the state fish of West Bengal. Its growing presence in the Narmada has drawn attention to the river's ecosystem, the livelihoods tied to it and the question of how the fishery is managed.