Ilish
species of fish
The ilish (Tenualosa ilisha) (Bengali: ইলিশ, romanized: iliś), also known as the ilishi, hilsa, pulasa, hilsa herring or hilsa shad, is a species of fish related to the herring, in the family Clupeidae. It is a very popular and sought-after food in the Bengal region and area and is the national fish of Bangladesh. It is also the state fish of the Indian state of West Bengal.
As of 2023, 97% of the world's total ilish supply originates in Bangladesh. The fish contributes about 12% of the total fish production and about 1.15% of GDP of the country. On 6 August 2017, the Department of Patents, Designs and Trademarks under the Ministry of Industries in Bangladesh declared ilish as a Geographical Indication of Bangladesh. About 450,000 people are directly involved in the catching of the fish as a large part of their livelihood; around four to five million people are indirectly involved with the trade.
Common names
Other names for the fish include jatka, illi, ilish de foundever, ellis, palla fish, hilsha, ilih etc. (Assamese: ইলীহ/ইলীহি: ilih/ilihi, Bengali: ইলিশ, romanized: iliś, Boro: इलिस, Gujarati: મોદાર/પાલ્વા: Modar or Palva, Odia: ଇଲିଶି, romanized: iliśi, Sindhī: پلو مڇي pallo machhi, Tamil: பள்ளு மீன்/palla Meen, Telugu: పులస pulasa). The name ilish is also used in India's Assamese, Bengali, Odia and Boro communities.
The public source identifies “Ilish” as species of fish. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Ilish, species and fish.
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A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Ilish”, the useful work is to connect “species of fish” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 19, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1709642. The Library of Congress control number is sh98004287. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2023 and 2017.
Scientific names, classifications and consensus can change while older terminology persists in catalogues and historical literature. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Ilish” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.