As in Bangladesh, many fishermen in Myanmar have made a living catching hilsa for generations.

But Ko Ko Aung of the BBC Burmese service says in an investigative report that uncontrolled fishing and the use of fine-mesh nets have put the hilsa of the Irrawaddy river under threat.

U Kaok Tin, 65, has lived by catching hilsa on the Irrawaddy for many years. "My father caught hilsa, and so do I," he told the BBC. "Back then we got lots of fish, big hilsa."

"My sons and I still go out for hilsa. But there are very few fish, and the ones we do get are small."

By one FAO estimate, 60 per cent of the world's hilsa is caught in Bangladesh and 15-20 per cent in Myanmar. Hilsa was once Myanmar's top fish export, but that is now history.

Hilsa enter rivers from the sea to spawn. But commercial trawlers using new kinds of nets are scooping fish from the very bottom of the sea, bringing up fish of every size.

Researchers say nets with holes as small as 2.5 centimetres are widely used, although the law requires the mesh to be at least 10 centimetres. Because of this, hilsa are not getting the chance to enter the rivers from the sea at all.

Source: BBC Bangla. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.