Sustainable Aquaculture of Hilsa in India and Legal Perspectives: A Comprehensive Review

Purpose: Hilsa overfishing has become one of the most concerning threats India despite a range of legal or regulatory frameworks are in action. The purpose of this review is to evaluate the current aquaculture practices of Hilsa in India in relation to balancing water ecology. This review has focused on whether the Indian fishery system maintains sustainable practices to for Hilsa.

Methods: A comprehensive review has been conducted to meet the specific aim of this study. In this context, a range of relevant literature, including research articles, industry reports, Government reports and news reports collected from Google, Google Scholar, ScienceDirect and MDPI have been reviewed.

Findings: The outcomes of this comprehensive review indicate that last few decades, the production of Hilsa species has increased but due to overfishing, the population of this species adversely affected. It indicates the phenomenon of sustainable fishing is not strictly maintained in India for the case of Hilsa. However, the current legal framework is not sufficient to prohibit overfishing.

Recommendations: A trans-boundary management of Hilsa fishery can be suggested which mainly includes forming a joint scientific council, joint monitoring and facilitating data availability, imposing similar discount rates, ban periods, mesh sizes, and introduction of effort and landing taxes. Additionally, by considering the success by CIFRI, the Government can increase breeding of Hilsa using cryopreserved milt. Furthermore, cultivating Hilsa through effective sustainable practices is another sustainable alternative to overfishing as it can meet the growing demands for Hilsa.