SUNDARBANS: Summer May 2015: When Hilsa enters, streches of river water become Black

[Saktipada Panigrahi]

Canon 550D, Canon 50mm
I do not possess that skill, posting the image for information; the black is the product of larvae released from body of Hilsa.

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Amazing. That means one can imagine the number of hilsa spawning. The larvae are about 3 mm long in the first day and grow rapidly. I have not seen this phenomenon and had only read about it. Now I am adding this to my Sundarban wishlist which is getting longer and longer. Sundarban is one amazing wilderness where spending even months at a stretch won't be enough to savour all its delectable experiences. Thanks a lot dada for sharing this.
Cheers,
Sabyasachi
PS: Is there any data on the estimated number of hilsa spawning at Sundarban?

[Saktipada Panigrahi]

Shri Sabyasachi,
Interestingly, these hilsa made an entry into some rivers of Sundarbans from Bangladesh, possible route: Bay of Bengal - Raimangal R. (India- Bangladesh border) - Gomdi R. and Bidya R. A few days earlier, there were two or thee pre-monsoon showers before we reached Sundarbans. In the evening, Shri Duttada, Manager, field staff and we came to Sajnekhali Jetty and observed the black water (called stretches of black layer in Sea indicating presence of Hilsa ). It was high tide, and I noticed at places thin lines of some white slime substance floating.They said has come from the secretion from the body of Hilsa in the river.
On the other side of the river, the villagers have already started spreading their nets for catch. Next day,from Pakhiralaya (opposite to Sajnekhali) to Gosaba bazar (opposite Gadkhali where we boarded the launch)........Hilsa, Hilsa in all bazars....@Rs.300/kg. Pre-monsoon size 400-700gm.
Kind regards,
SaktiWild

[Mrudul Godbole]

Very interesting phenomena. Does this occur every year during early monsoon period? Thanks for sharing the detailed information. Look forward to more from Sunderbans.

[Roopak Gangadharan]

thats amazing...entire stretches of the river turning black. Nice documentation of this wonderful event sir. Do only humans make the most of this or is there a congregation of other creatures looking for the abundant and easy protein? Will be grateful if you can share more information and images on this Shaktida.

TFS
Roopak

[Subhash Shrivastava]

Sakti sir, this scene depicts abundance. How does this image may compare with an image taken 10 years back. Some comparative data may help us to understand the impact of human exploitation and climate change on Sunderbans and it's fauna.

Thanks for sharing a piece of pristine land and the sea. The country boat looks in harmony with its surroundings.