Kolkata : In West Bengal, its beloved fish – a staple in Bengali homes – has found its way from the kitchen to the election campaign trail. The humble fish became an unexpected flashpoint after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a rally on Thursday, accused the Mamata Banerjee-led government of failing to feed her people enough fish. It was an attempt by PM Modi to kill two birds with one stone. First, to make it a prestige issue for Mamata. Second, to counter Trinamool’s attempt to portray the BJP as being “anti-non-vegetarian”.
You will be shocked to know that there is so much demand for fish. And Bengal is not self-sufficient… fish is imported from other states. In 15 years of its rule, the TMC has not been able to give you fish, PM Modi said in Haldia. Bihar and Assam used to import fish. Now, they are self-sufficient, having doubled their fish production,” he further said, turning it into a prestige issue for Mamata. A fiery counter came from the chief minister within hours. Speaking at an election rally, Mamata pointed out that Bengal used to import fish from Andhra Pradesh, but has stopped now.
We used to import fish from Hyderabad. But now 80% of fish are produced here in Bengal. They need not worry about fish production in Bengal, she said. The sharp exchange between PM Modi and Mamata has fuelled a widespread debate on social media. Bengal is India’s second-highest fish-producing state after Andhra Pradesh. It produces around 23.74 lakh tonnes of fish (around 12% of India’s total). Notably, around 80% of the population in Bengal consumes fish.
Data shows that in 2025-2026 (till November), Bengal imported frozen tilapia fish, shrimps, hilsa, and catfish worth $5.33 million (Rs 4.94 crore) from Mauritania, a small country in northwest Africa. From Uganda, Bengal mainly imports shrimps. In 2025-26, it imported fish worth $0.11 million (Rs 1.02 crore). You must be wondering why Bangladesh is not in the list, as Bengal receives a significant quantity of hilsa, known as the “queen of fish” for its taste, from the neighbouring country.
During the height of India-Bangladesh tensions last year after the fall of the Hasina government, Bengal received a record haul from Gujarat, PM Modi’s home state. It came amid a declining hilsa catch in the rivers of Bengal. During her rally on Thursday, Mamata asserted that hilsa was now widely available across Bengal. “Hilsa fish is now widely available in Bengal. We have established a research centre for hilsa production in Diamond Harbour,” she said.
In 2022-23, Bengal imported 1.51 lakh metric tonnes of fish from other states. It decreased to 1.36 LMT in 2023-24, and further declined to 1.22 LMT in 2024-25. Thus, data shows that despite being the second-largest producer of fish in the country, Bengal still imports a significant amount to meet the local demand. However, it has been decreasing gradually.
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