Hilsa is the national fish of Bangladesh, also popular in India's Assamese-, Bengali- Oriya-speaking regions and in Telugu-speaking regions and in Pakistan Sindh. In Gujarat it is known as either Modenn or Palva. It is an economically important tropical fish. This fish exists and is caught in Narmada and Padma river deltas. The fish in coastal area of Gujarat is known as Modenn if it is female and palva if it is young male. Like Bengal or Sindh this fish is not well known in Gujarat because fish eaters in Gujarat are Mostly Muslims and Hindu fisherman of the coastal areas. The Hilsa fish is full of tiny bones which require trained eaters/hands to handle. As it is anadromous in nature (an uncommon phenomenon in tropical waters), the hilsa lives in the sea for most of its life, but migrates up to 1,200 km inland through rivers in the Indian sub-continent for spawning. Distances of 50-100 km are usually normal in the Bangladesh rivers. Hilsa is mainly available in the major Bangladesh rivers of the Padma (lower Ganges), Meghna, Jamuna (lower Brahmaputra), and Godavari. Those from the Padma are considered to be the best in taste.