Journal of the Marine Biological Association of India

Five-spot herring Hilsa kelee and other marine clupeoid resources of South India.

Volume 16 Issue 2

John W. Reinjes

Abstract

The clupeoid resources of the Indian Ocean are not much better known in 1970 than they were in 1960 when the International Indian Ocean Expedition was planned. The five spot herring, Hilsa kelee, is not well-known nor utilised in the areas where it occurs. It closely resembles the American menhaden that supports the largest fishery in North America. It is marine and not anadromous like Hilsa ilisha. There is little similarity between the two species although they are presently in the same genus. The English name, five-spot herring, is not often used. None of the names in Tamil, Malayalam, Singhalese, Marathi, Kannarese, Telugu, Bengali or Urdu are commonly used. Of the clupeoids in the Indian Ocean, Hilsa kelee, has the greatest range. It occurs from Natal to the Malay Archipelago and Western Indonesia. In the central part of its range from the Gulf of Aden to Burma it occurs commonly and is seasonally abundant, especially in Pakistan, South India and Sri Lanka and from Bengal to the Burma Coast. 

Date : 30-08-1974