DHAKA, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- Hilsa, Bangladesh's national fish popular for its tasty flesh, is set to be registered as the country's second Geographical Indication (GI) product as per guidelines of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
As no complaint was made following a gazette notification of the Bangladeshi government published in June, there is now no hurdle to register Hilsa as a product of Bangladesh, a Bangladeshi Industries Ministry official told Xinhua Tuesday.
"No parties from abroad raised any objection against the Bangladeshi government's move. We were initially worried whether India and Myanmar raise any objection against our move," said the Industries Ministry official who declined to be named.
He said the Department of Patents, Designs and Trademarks under the Industries Ministry later this month will hand over the GI certificate to the Department of Fisheries.
According to the WIPO, GI is a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin.
In the recent years, though hilsa production decreases in other countries, it is on the rise in Bangladesh following the government efforts.
Bangladesh has three kinds of Hilsa -- Tenualosa Hilsha, Chandana Ilish and Gurta Ilish.
The most famous species is Tenualosa, known as Padma Illish which is the tastiest and the richest in fat and flavor among all types of Hilsas. The Illish is widely found in the territory of the country from the Bay of Bengal to major rivers.
Hilsa fish is also found in India, Myanmar, Pakistan, Oman and Bahrain, but about 75 percent of the fish is caught in Bangladesh, some 15 percent in Myanmar and 5 percent in India and 5 percent in other countries.
According to the fisheries department, Hilsa accounts for about 12 percent of the country's annual fish production and about 450,000 fishermen depend on Hilsa, which usually grows to a weight of 4 kg.
The country's Hilsa output rose to more than 400,000 tonnes in 2015-16 (July 2015-June 2016) from about 385,000 tonnes in 2014-15 financial year (July 2014-2015). Enditem
