Seasons and runs, about 1 Jul to 30 Sept 2027
Hilsa season in Bengal
With the monsoon, hilsa swim from the Bay of Bengal up the Padma, Meghna and Hooghly to spawn, and the catch peaks.
Hilsa, ilish in Bengali, spend most of their lives in the Bay of Bengal and enter the great rivers of Bangladesh and West Bengal to spawn. The main run comes with the monsoon floods from July to October, when the fish are fattest. Hilsa is the national fish of Bangladesh, which lands most of the world catch, and it is central to Bengali cooking and festivals, from shorshe ilish in mustard to the hilsa of Jamai Shashti. Barrages and siltation on the Ganges have cut the runs into India, while Bangladesh protects the young fish and spawners with seasonal bans.
Still to be written: Ilish, Toli shad, Hilsa kelee.