Conservation of freshwater fish resources of India: new approaches, assessment and challenges

Abstract

The freshwater resources of India are currently experiencing an alarming decline in Wsh biodiversity due to several factors and as a result, a sizeable portion of fresh water Wshes have been categorized as threatened. This emphasizes an immediate need for initiating research and actions for alternative management techniques to protect these aquatic systems. One such option that has potential to protect freshwater ecosystem from numerous threats is the creation of freshwater aquatic sanctuary (FAS) within protected area network. Though similar conservation practices are well established in the terrestrial and marine ecosystem, however, the work on freshwater systems has been very slow and negligible. In the present communication we conceptualized the need and approach for developing FAS within the protected area network based on our observations in the water bodies of the selected wildlife sanctuaries in Northern India as well as success stories of some other countries. In this study we assessed the Wsh diversity in the selected protected areas of Northern India. The assessment indicated that these sanctuaries harbor 28.26-31.13% of freshwater Wshes, which are threatened in other areas. Apart from Indian Major Carps, Tor putitora, Chitala chitala, Pangasius pangasius, Clupisoma gerua, Ailia coila, Aorichthys aor, Wallago attu, Rhinomugil corsula, Ompok pabda, Ombok pabo etc. were the important species encountered in the protected waters. The various issues related to FAS including objectives, approach, potential tools, implementation and management are discussed towards saving endangered Wsh germplasm resources. Approaches, tools and 1 C modus operandi proposed in this communication could be utilized by other developing countries in the region.

Performance and emission characteristics of compression ignition engine using methyl ester blends of jatropha and fish oil

“…Brake Thermal Efficiency Figure 3 shows the variation of brake thermal efficiency with brake power, which was found to increase with increasing brake power as observed by investigators [27,28,30]. The brake thermal efficiency for 20% JOME and 20% FOME blends were slightly lower than that of diesel at all loads.…”

“…A better way to utilize these byproducts is to convert them into biodiesels for use in diesel engines [29]. India has one of the longest coastal areas in Asia and has excellent potential for fish and fish products including Fish meal and Fish oil [30]. Locally produced fish oil biodiesel blend fuels have the potential to create sustainable energy supply for use in remote regions, together with dramatic cost savings and reduced dependence on imported petroleum products [31].…”

A review of applications of the six-step method of systematic conservation planning

“…Area-based refinement for selection of reserve sites with the benefit-function approach [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] Conserving population linkages for the Mojave desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) 1378-1387…”

Fish species diversity, fishing gears and crafts from the Buriganga river, Dhaka

“…Throughout the last century, freshwater fish are one of the *Author for correspondence: <muzammel3@gmail.com>. most threatened taxonomic groups (Darwall and Vie 2005) because of their high sensitivity to the quantitative and qualitative alteration of aquatic habitat due to intensive anthropogenic activities (Laffaille et al 2005, Kang et al 2009, Sarkar et al 2008. As a consequence, many fish species have become highly endangered, particularly in rivers.…”