Roy, Aparna and Chaterjee, Priya and B.K, Das and A.K, Bera and P.R, Behera and P.K, Parida (2022) Highly invasive and ecologically detrimental fish species affecting the livelihoods of small-scale wetland fishers in West Bengal, India. p. 3.
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India is home to 877 native freshwater fish species, out of which 450 are small indigenous fish. Conservation of this rich biodiversity is crucial for the environment and maintaining healthy ecosystem. In the recent years, the rivers, floodplain wetlands, beels, creeks, and canals, which are home to various indigenous species, have been subjected to various anthropogenic stressors that affect the aquatic biodiversity of resident flora and fauna. One such stressors is the introduction of invasive fish species in these aquatic ecosystems. Khalsi is a seasonally open oxbow shaped lake located in the Haringhata Block of Nadia district in the state of West Bengal, India, managed by the Khalsi fishers’ cooperative society. Stock enhancement of the beel is managed through culture-based fisheries intervention. The fish cultured in this wetland are mainly Indian Major Carps (Labeo catla, Labeo rohita), Silver Carps (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix), Grass Carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) etc. There are also numerous small indigenous fish species like Mola (Amblypharyngodon mola), Punti (Puntius sp), Tangra (Mystus sp.), and Koi (Anabas testudineus). Recently, a high abundance of two invasive species has been noticed in Khalsi wetland: Pterygoplichthys paradalis and Pterygoplichthys disjunctivus. These non-native species cause ecological imbalance and, eventually, economic harm. Occurrences of these two species in inland open waters have been reported from East Kolkata Wetland (EKW) and several states of India as well as in different South Asian countries. Introduction of these two species in this wetland may have been accidental; according to the wetland dependent community of the Khalsi beel, the species might be introduced along with carp seeds as there is no regular quality check in the hatchery produced seeds. Moreover, as Khalsi is a seasonally open wetland, these invasive species may have come from the parent river of the wetland. Frequent reporting of these fish from rivers and open or seasonally open water bodies across the nation is an indication that these species are compatible with the habitat conditions. Immediate attention towards their elimination is needed, otherwise the population will stabilize in the inland open waters of the nation and directly affect the small-scale, inland open-water fishery.
| Item Type: | Articles |
|---|---|
| Keywords: | West Bengal, India, Livelihoods, Fish Species, Wetland, Small-scale Fisheries, Conservation |
| Subjects: | Right to Resources |
| Depositing User: | Kokila ICSF Krish |
| Date Deposited: | 01 Mar 2025 08:00 |
| Last Modified: | 01 Mar 2025 08:00 |
| URI: | http://icsfarchives.net/id/eprint/21498 |
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