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Diversity of Fish Fauna in
the Rivers and Beels of Karimganj district of Southern Assam, India, 2023 |
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| Paper Id :
17986 Submission Date :
16/08/2023 Acceptance Date :
22/08/2023 Publication Date :
25/08/2023
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| Abstract |
Fishes constitute more than half the number of total
vertebrate fauna and India alone has about 2500 species out of which 930 are
fresh water. The Barak Valley region of Southern Assam ,India has high
biological diversity in having large number of terrestrial fauna specifically
Fishes The Karimganj district of Barak Valley is unique in having large number
of water bodies in the form of rivers, beels , haors and include Kushiara,
Longai and Singla river, famous Son beel, Meda beel and Anair beel.The present
study was conducted mainly in the three rivers and three beels of Karimganj
district for their fish diversity and composition. During the course of study
45 different species of fishes were identified and recorded. It includes
41(Forty one) indigenous and 4 (four) exotic species. It has also been observed
that fish diversity is more in rivers than beels and other water bodies.
Moreover ,during the study it is learnt that the water quality of the above
mentioned water bodies are undergoing degradation due to anthropogenic threats
mainly due to large scale use of fertilizers and pesticides in the nearby
agricultural field and Tea gardens. Today the Fish diversity and associated
management is a great challenge . |
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| Keywords | Vertebrates, Biological Diversity, Barak Valley, Southern Assam, Karimganj District, Kushira River, Longai River, Singla River, Son Beel, Indigenous, Exotic, Anthropogenic, Fertilizers, Pesticides, Management. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Introduction | Fishes enjoy a special consideration and place in human
civilization Its food value, gastronomy, culinary and nutrition brings it to
the fore. Today protein deficiency is the world’s most serious human
malnutrition problem and perhaps 30% to 40% of the world population is
suffering from protein deficiency. It is estimated that about 8.5 million tons
fish is required annually to meet the present day demand of fish protein in the
country against an annual production of only 1.7 million tons. The fishe
constitute about 21,723 species accounting about almost half the total
vertebrates species of the world. But in Indian region alone, of the 2500
species,930 are fresh water and 1570 are marine inhabitants. The Barak Valley of
Assam is unique in having a number of wetlands locally called “Beels”(perennial
ones) and Haor (seasonal ones).Moreover, a number of peculiar lentic system
exist in the Barak Valley, locally called ‘Anua’. The Karimganj district is
having three major rivers namely-Kushiara, Longai , Singla and beels such as
Son beel, Kachua beel, Anair beel and Meda beel. All these water bodies
contribute towards the biodiversity of fishes in the district. |
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| Aim of study |
The present study was conducted for a period of six months with the following objectives 1. To assess the diversity of fish fauna in the water bodies of the district. 2. To identify the prevailing anthropogenic
threats in the water bodies. |
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| Review of Literature | A fair amount of published information was
available on fish diversity in Barak Valley and there are a number of synoptic
work on fishes. But mention may be made in this connection that much work was not done on fish and its
diversity in Karimganj district of Assam. The Karimganj district is one of the
potential region of fish diversity and this region marks the boundary with
Bangladesh on the south west. |
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| Main Text | Study area: The present study
was conducted in river Kushira, Longaiand Singla , Son beel, Medha beel,Kachua beel and Anair beel and
water bodies such as haor and fisheries spreading throughout the Karimganj district.
Karimganj district is surrounded by Bangladesh in the North, Mizoram state in the south, Hailakandi district in
the east and Tripura and Bangladesh in the west. The district is dominated by
semi evergreen forest. Map of Karimganj District
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| Result and Discussion |
The
biodiversity of fish fauna in the rivers, beels and other water bodies of
Karimganj district are notable. In the present investigation 45
fish species( 41 indigenous and 4 exotic) belonging to 22 families and 31genera
were recorded from the study areas. The species belonging to the family
Cyprinidae was dominant. The various species of fishes obtained during the
investigation is represented below in tabulated form with their local name, scientific
name, family, class and order . Table:-1:
List of Indigenous Fishes in the water bodies of
Karimganj district
Discussion |
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| Conclusion |
Although large number of fishes species are still occurring
in the water bodies of Karimganj district but the production rate as reported
by the fisherman has gone down considerably over the last decade mainly because
of degradation of water quality of the rivers and beels due to anthropogenic
threats such as drainage of pesticides, fertilizers and chemicals used in the
agricultural field and tea gardens into the water bodies. Today for the
restoration of the fish diversity in the water bodies of Karimganj district
proper management is a great challenge. |
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