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FISH DIVERSITY OF SUBARNAREKHA ESTUARY IN RELATION TO SALINITY
FISH DIVERSITY OF SUBARNAREKHA ESTUARY IN RELATION TO SALINITY
FISH DIVERSITY OF SUBARNAREKHA ESTUARY IN RELATION TO SALINITY
FISH DIVERSITY OF SUBARNAREKHA ESTUARY IN RELATION TO SALINITY
FISH DIVERSITY OF SUBARNAREKHA ESTUARY IN RELATION TO SALINITY
Utpal BhaumikThe river Subarnarekha, about 460 km in length, originates in the Chotanagpur plateau near Ranchi, traverses through the states of Jharkhand, West Bengal and Orissa before meeting the Bay of Bengal about 1.5 km downstream of Kirtania / Chaumukha. Located in the state of Orissa, the entire estuarine stretch, about 50 km in length from Jaleswar to sea face, constitutes around 10% of the total length of the river. Based on the primary observations on the salinity regime and extent of tide, the Subarnarekha estuary was divided into three zones, viz., (i) Kirtania-Ramnagar (ii) upstream of Ramnagar to Dahamunda and (iii) upstream of Dahamunda to Jaleswar. Information on the piscine fauna of the estuary appears to be scanty. With this in view, a benchmark survey covering the period between April, 2008 and October, 2009 was conducted to evaluate the fish diversity of the Subarnarekha estuary. During the present course of investigations 140 species of fishes belonging to 18 orders and 55 families could be recorded of which estuarine / marine species contributed around 59.29% (excluding species found both in estuarine and transitional zone) and those migrating upstream even to freshwater zone. Perciformes constituted more than 45% of the total fish species recorded.
Related Papers
There is no denying fact that hilsa has established itself as one of the most important commercial fishes of the Indo-Pacific region. It has a wide range of distribution and occurs in marine, estuarine and riverine environments. The fish is found in the Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal, Vietnam Sea and China Sea. The riverine habitat covers the Satil Arab, and the Tigris and Euphrates of Iran and Iraq, the Indus of Pakistan, the rivers of eastern and Western India namely the Ganga, Hooghly, Rupnarayan, Brahmaputra, Godavari, Narmada and other coastal rivers, the Irrawaddy of Myanmar, and the Padma, Jamuna, Meghna, Karnafully and other coastal rivers of Bangladesh.
Hilsa,Tenualosa ilisha (Hamilton), by habitat is a marine environment species but they migrate to estuarine and fresh waters for spawning purposes. Peak upstream migration of Hilsa in the Rivers mostly starts with the onset of South-West monsoon. Tagging experiments have shown that a Hilsa may cover as much as 70.8 km in one day. Hilsa fishery exists with two distinguished peaks in monsoon and winter in Hooghly-Bhagirathi linkage of Ganga River system. In Bangladesh waters, during the peak breeding season the adult fish run in shoals to the estuaries and the rivers and migrate upstream as much as 1200 km (usual run 50-100 km) for spawning. In Indus, the migration takes place up to the Gulam Mohamed Barrage, which is 161 km from the Sea. In the River Irrawady, Hilsa are known to ascend into upper Burma to Mndalay, a distance of about 724 km from the Sea. Sbour (Hilsa) ascend Shatt Al-Arab River to about 150-200 km north of the city of Amara on the Tigris River. During last few decades the fishery has depleted in the Riverine environment of many countries due to rapid siltation and other degraded ecological conditions including wanton destruction of Jatka (Juveniles). It is, therefore, necessary to formulate and implement a good management plan especially conservation strategies for sustenance of this highly prized fishery across the world.
International Journal for Research in Applied Science & Engineering Technology
Alpha Diversity Difference of Ichthyofauna of Ganga on North and South Portion of Farakka Barrage, West Bengal, India2021 •
River Ganga being the largest river of India supports the richest ichthyofaunal diversity of the country as well as productivity and harbours many rare and endemic species of fishes. One main threat to native fishes of Ganga is alteration of its hydrologic pattern by construction of dams and barrages over the river. Very well-known Farakka barrage Project (FBP) is one such construction over river Ganga at Murshidabad, which came into effect in 1975. The present study focuses on to find whether any notable difference can be found between the upstream and downstream stretch of Ganga divided by the barrage. A total of 81 species were found in the river Ganga at the upstream and downstream of Farakka barrage. There are 93% similarity in alpha diversity of ichthyofauna in between Ganga stretch of Malda (upstream of Farakka) and Murshidabad (downstream of Farakka) district. A number of exotic species are also found.
Hooghly estuary, the lowermost part of River Ganges in India, following the construction of Farakka barrage in 1975, witnessed improved freshwater inflow in the estuarine stretch of the river with significant impact on the salinity regime, water transparency, suspended sediments and nutrient load leading to alternations in the distribution and abundance of fish and other biotic organisms like plankton and benthos. A detailed seasonal study was conducted in Hooghly estuary during 2010–2012 to evaluate the spatio-temporal changes in selected physico-chemical parameters like temperature, transparency, pH, free CO2, dissolved oxygen, specific conductivity, total alkalinity, total hardness, salinity, available nutrients like nitrate, phosphate and silicate under the present hydrological regime in determining the distribution of fish and other aquatic organisms. The salinity based zonation during pre-Farakka period apparently stands modified with a downward shift of freshwater zone. Accordingly, distribution and abundance of biotic communities like plankton and fish now present a completely different scenario from the past.
2015 •
Chilika Lake, an assemblage of marine, brackish and freshwater ecosystems, on the east coast of India is a designated Ramsar site and a biodiversity hotspot. Intensive ichthyofaunal inventories and biodiversity assessments were carried out during 2000–2014 and documented 317 species belonging to 207 genera, in 88 families and 23 orders, including two endemic (Gobiidae) and one exotic cichlid species (Oreochromis mossambicus). In total, 255 collections (178 collections of previously recorded species and 77 that represent newly recorded species) were made during a post-restoration survey accounting for 80.44% retrieval of historically documented species. This paper presents an updated and comprehensive checklist of the lake’s ichthyofauna (1916–2014), which is comprised of 278 food fishes, 271 (85.49%) migratory and 46 (14.51%) are resident species indicating that the lake fishery is largely migratory species-dependent. An account of faunal characteristics for 129 commercially importa...
The research revealed a number of key issues including over exploitation, siltation in river beds, a decrease in water flow from upstream, fragmentation of the river in the dry season and a need to regularise conservation and protection mechanisms between Bangladesh and India.
FISH DIVERSITY OF SUBARNAREKHA ESTUARY
GHOSH et al.
J. Inland Fish. Soc. India, 43(1) :
, 2011
FISH DIVERSITY OF SUBARNAREKHA ESTUARY IN RELATION TO
SALINITY
AMITABHA GHOSH, UTPAL BHAUMIK AND B. B. SATPATHY
Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute, Barrackpore, Kolkata - 700 120
Received : 24.11.2010; Accepted : 04.02.2011
The river Subarnarekha, about 460 km in length, originates in the Chotanagpur plateau near Ranchi, traverses through
the states of Jharkhand, West Bengal and Orissa before meeting the Bay of Bengal about 1.5 km downstream of Kirtania
/ Chaumukha. Located in the state of Orissa, the entire estuarine stretch, about 50 km in length from Jaleswar to sea face,
constitutes around 10% of the total length of the river. Based on the primary observations on the salinity regime and
extent of tide, the Subarnarekha estuary was divided into three zones, viz., (i) Kirtania-Ramnagar (ii) upstream of
Ramnagar to Dahamunda and (iii) upstream of Dahamunda to Jaleswar. Information on the piscine fauna of the estuary
appears to be scanty. With this in view, a benchmark survey covering the period between April, 2008 and October, 2009
was conducted to evaluate the fish diversity of the Subarnarekha estuary. During the present course of investigations
140 species of fishes belonging to 18 orders and 55 families could be recorded of which estuarine / marine species
contributed around 59.29% (excluding species found both in estuarine and transitional zone) and those migrating
upstream even to freshwater zone. Perciformes constituted more than 45% of the total fish species recorded.
Key words: Subarnarekha estuary, fish diversity
Introduction
its ecology, fishery and aquatic bio-diversity are
concerned. With this in view, a survey was
conducted on the ecology, fish diversity and
fishery of the Subarnarekha estuary covering
2008-09 and 2009-10.
The river Subarnarekha, “the streak of gold” as
the name signifies, is about 460 km in length,
originates in the Chotanagpur plateau near Ranchi
and meanders through the states of Jharkhand,
West Bengal and Orissa before draining into the
Bay of Bengal near Kirtaniya/Chaumukha in the
district of Baleswar (Balasore) in Orissa. The
estuarine span of the river is about 50 km covering
a stretch between sea-face (about 1.5 km
downstream of Kirtania) and Jaleswar, and is
confined within the state of Orissa. Though a feeble
impact of tide is sometimes observed in the
uppermost part at Jaleswar, in physical dimension,
the estuary proper should be considered only up
to about 5-7 km downstream of Jaleswar and 5-6
km above Dahamunda. This beautiful estuary
dwells through a difficult terrain and till recently,
could attract only a few nature lovers. For this
reason perhaps, it remained little known so far as
Fish diversity and distributional pattern in relation
to salinity regime and other factors in different east
coast estuaries are on record and some of such
references of the recent past include those of David
(1954), Gopalakrishnan (1971), Menon et al.
(1972), Sinha et al. (1998), Ghosh (2008 a, b),
Ghosh and Satpathy (2008), Ghosh (2009) etc.
on Hooghly estuary. Talwar et al. (1992) gave an
account of the marine and estuarine fishes of West
Bengal and made references to the fishes of lower
saline zone of Hooghly estuary. Sen (1992)
presented a systematic account of the freshwater
fishes of West Bengal referring to some fishes of
the freshwater zone of Hooghly estuary. David
(1963a) while giving an account of fish and
51
fisheries of Godavari and Krishna river systems
made some references on the fishes of lower part
of river Godavari. Babu Rao (1976) gave an
account of the clupeoid fishes and Visweswara Rao
(1976) that of non-clupeoid fishes of Godavari
estuary. Information about the fish fauna of the
estuary are also available from the works of David
(1963b), Jhingran (1991), CIFRI (2000) etc.
Ghosh and Satpathy (2009) made a comparative
study on the present status of fish diversity of
Hooghly and Godavari estuaries.There seems to
be no comprehensive information available on the
ichthyofauna of the Subarnarekha estuary. Some
scattered information on the fish fauna in upper
riverine stretch, however, are available, which
include those of Singh and Singh (1988),
Karmakar (2005), Karmakar et al., (2008) etc.
Materials and methods
Fish samples were collected / recorded from the
arrivals of various gears, e.g., set barriers,cast net,
drift / set gill net, bag net, thick meshed small
rectangular nets operated by two persons
(particularly at Ramnagar-Rasulpur and Kirtania
during low tide), shore seines, baits, traps etc. and
Khadan fishing at different centers in freshwater,
transitional and high saline zones. The fishes were
either identified in the field or fish samples
collected were preserved in formalin and brought
to the laboratory for identification. Some of the
species were photographed in the field itself.
Identification and taxonomic characterization were
done following Day, Munro (1955), Jayram
(1981), Datta Munshi and Srivastava (1988),
Talwar and Jhingran (1991), Sen (1992), Talwar
et al. (1992), Chondar (1999). Water salinity was
measured following standard methods (APHA,
1980)
Study sites
The Subarnarekha estuary, which contributes about
10% of the total length of the river, was divided
into three main stretches viz., (i) KirtaniaRamnagar (ii) upstream of Ramnagar to
Dahamunda and (iii) upstream of Dahamunda to
Jaleswar, based on the primary observation on
the salinity regime and extent of tide. The estuary,
along its length, has a number of sandflats/ mudflats,
which are exposed during dry seasons and get
inundated during flood season. These sand flats
divide the estuary into 2-3 channels, while the main
stream passes by the right bank near Jaleswar,
Ramnagar and Kirtania. Sand mining is a
major activity at Jaleswar during dry season. A
long and deep pool of a few km stretch, located in
Dahamunda area gives the estuarine bed the shape
of a large lake. A canal (locally known as ‘Hooghly
canal’) joins the estuary at Ramnagar-Rasulpur
some distance below a lock-gate. The head of the
estuary in the freshwater zone features a few
stagnant pools intermittently during dry season.
Results and discussion
The salinity regime
The salinity regime of the estuary demonstrates
almost a freshwater condition throughout its length
during monsoon months except in the stretch
between Rasulpur-Ramnagar and Kirtania, where
a low-saline condition persists. The salinity starts
increasing following post-monsoon months. A weak
salinity gradient begins to develop in the estuary,
which is further intensified from winter to summer
months. During the period of observation, the
salinity ranged between 0.41 and 27.10 ppt at
Kirtania, 0.05 and 2.45 ppt at Ramnagar-Rasulpur;
0.05 and 0.19 ppt at Dahamunda and 0.04 and
0.10 ppt at Sasanbar (Jaleswar). Average values
of salinity at different centers are depicted in
Fig. 1.
52
Salinity in %o
Kirtania
RamnagarRasulpur
Dahamunda
Jaleswar
Fig. 1. Average salinity at sampling sites of Subarnarekha
estuary
Fig. 2. Zone-wise distribution of fish species in
Subarnarekha estuary
Fish diversity
As per the existing literature 65 (Karmakar,
2005) or 66 (Karmakar et al., 2008) species of
fishes are on record from the Subarnarekha river
on the whole. During the benchmark survey
conducted under the present Project a total of
140 species of fish, under 55 families and 18
orders have been recorded / documented only
from the estuarine part of the river from
Jaleswar to Kirtania (Table 1). Many of the
species encountered in Subarnarekha estuary
are in common with those of other eastcoast estuaries, e.g., Hooghly and Godavari
estuaries. Perciformes constituted more than
45% of the total fish species recorded,
while the contributions of Cypriniformes,
Clupeiformes, Siluriformes and Pleuronectiformes
were of the order of 10.71%, 12.86%, 10.00%
and 4.29% respectively. The rest of the species
were members of the other 13 orders recorded.
Out of the 140 species recorded 83 species are
from high/low saline zone, constituting 59.29% of
the total fish species recorded from the estuary
(Fig. 3). Fishes restricted to freshwater zone
contributed 24.29% to the total number of
species encountered. Fishes which are found from
the transitional zone to freshwater zone contribute
5.00%, while those distributed from high saline
zone to transitional zone make up 8.57% of the
total number of species (Fig. 2). Tenualosa ilisha,
Fig. 3. Group-wise composition of fishes in Subarnarekha
estuary
Rhinomugil corsula and Xenentodon cancila
have been recorded from all the three zones.
Mystus cavasius was encountered only in the
transitional zone. The present investigation clearly
demonstrated that the estuarine environment was
fairly congenial to support a variety of fish life,
which has been substantiated by the studies on
physico-chemical parameters of water. No tilapia
(Oreochromis spp.) was encountered. Hilsa has
been found to be restricted to high saline transitional zone, though stray specimens of hilsa
are found at Jaleswar following the flood season.
Of the polynemids Polynemus paradiseus and
Elutheronema tetradactylum are rarely found in
the lowermost part of the transitional zone. These
two species and also Polydactylus indicus are
restricted mainly to high saline zone. At
Dahamunda, because of the presence of the deep
pool many fish species, viz., Liza parsia, Liza
tade, Pama pama, Sillago sihama, Sillaginopsis
53
Table 1. Fishes recorded from the Subarnarekha Estuary
Class : Chondrichthyes
1. Order : Charcharhiniformes
Family: Carcharhinidae
1. Scoliodon laticaudus (Muller and Henle)
2. Order : Rajiformes
Family : Dasyatidae
1.Himantura bleekeri (Blyth)
2. Himantura imbricata (Bloch & Schneider)
Class: Osteichthys
3. Order : Eliopiformes
Family : Eliopidae
1. Elops saurus Linnaeus
4. Order : Anguilliformes
Family : Ophichthydae
1. Pisodonophis boro (Hamilton-Buchanan)
5. Order : Osteoglossiformes
Family : Notopteridae
1. Notopterus notopterus (Pallas)
2. Chitala chitala (Hamilton-Buchanan)
6. Order : Clupeiformes
Family : Clupeidae
1. Tenualosa ilisha (Hamilton-Buchanan)
2. Escualosa thoracata (Valenciennes)
3. Anodontostoma chacunda (Hamilton – Buchanan)
4. Sardinella melanura (Cuvier)
5. Sardinella sp.
Family : Chirocentridae
6. Chirocentrus dorab (Forsskal)
Family : Pristigasteridae
7. Raconda russeliana Gray
8. Ilisha filigera (Valenciennes)
9. Ilisha megaloptera (Swainson)
10. Ilisha elongata (Benette)
Family : Engraulidae
11. Coilia dussumeiri Valenciennes
12.Coilia ramcarati (Hamilton-Buchanan)
13. Coilia reynaldi Valenciennes
14. Setipinna taty (Valenciennes)
15. Stolephorus indicus (van Hassler)
16. Stolephorus commersonii Lacelpede
17. Thryssa purava (Hamilton-Buchanan)
18. Thryssa malabarica (Bloch)
7. Order : Cypriniformes
Family : Cyprinidae
1. Labeo calbasu (Hamilton Buchanan)
2. Labeo rohita (Hamilton-Buchanan)
3. Labeo bata (Hamilton-Buchanan)
4. Cirrhinus mrigala (Hamilton- uchanan)
5. Cirrihinus reba (Hamilton-Buchanan)
6. Chagunius chagunio (Hamilton-Buchanan)
7. Puntius sophore (Hamilton-Buchanan)
8. Puntius ticto (Hamilton-Buchanan)
9. Salmostoma bacaila (Hamilton-Buchanan)
10. Salmostoma phulo (Hamilton-Buchanan)
11. Danio devario (Hamilton-Buchanan)
12. Parluciosoma daniconius (Hamilton-Buchanan)
13. Amblypharyngodon mola (Hamilton-Buchanan)
14. Barilius barila (Hamilton-Buchanan)
Family : Cobitidae
15. Lepidocephalus guntea (Hamilton-Buchanan)
8. Order : Siluriformes
Family : Bagridae
1. Sperata aor (Hamilton-Buchanan)
2. Mystus cavasius (Hamilton-Buchanan)
3. Mystus gulio (Hamilton-Buchanan)
4. Mystus vittatus (Bloch)
Family : Schilbeidae
5. Eutropichthys vacha (Hamilton-Buchanan)
6. Ailia coila (Hamilton-Buchanan)
7. Neotropius atherinoides (Bloch)
Family : Pangasiidae
8. Pangasius pangasius (Hamilton-Buchanan)
Family : Siluridae
9. Wallago attu (Schneider)
10. Ompok pabda (Hamilton-Buchanan)
Family : Sisoridae
11. Gagata cenia (Hamilton-Buchanan)
Family : Aridae
12. Arius jella Day
13. Arius sona (Hamilton-Buchanan)
14. Osteogeniosus militaris (Linnaeus)
9. Order : Aulopiformes
Family : Harpadontidae
1. Harpodon nehereus (Hamilton-Buchanan)
Family : Synodontidae
2. Saurida tumbil (Bloch)
10. Order : Gadiformes
Family : Bregmacerotidae
1. Bregmaceros mcclellandi Thompson
11. Order : Perciformes
Family : Centropomidae
1. Lates calcarifer (Bloch)
Family : Ambassidae
2. Chanda nama (Hamilton-Buchanan)
3. Pseudambasis ranga (Hamilton-Buchanan)
4. Ambassis nalua (Hamilton-Buchanan)
Family : Leognathidae
5. Secutor ruconis (Hamilton-Buchanan)
6. Secutor insidiator (Bloch)
7. Gazza minuta (Bloch)
Family : Gerreidae
8. Gerres filamentosa Cuvier
9. Gerres oyena (Forsskal)
10. Gerreomorpha setifer (Hamilton-Buchanan)
Family : Lutjanidae
11. Lutjanius johni (Bloch)
54
50. Trichiurus haumala Linnaeus
Family : Scianidae
51. Pama pama (Hamilton-Buchanan)
52. Otolithoides biauritus (Cantor)
53. Otolithoides ruber (Schneider)
54. Macrospinosa cuja (Hamilton-Buchanan)
55. Daysciaena albida (Cuvier)
56. Dendrophysa russelli (Cuvier)
Family : Lobotidae
57. Lobotes surinamensis (Bloch)
Family : Himulidae
58. Pomadasys argenteus (Forsskal)
Family : Mugilidae
59. Liza parsia (Hamilton-Buchanan)
60. Liza tade (Forsskal)
61. Mugil cephalus Linnaeus
62. Valamugil cunnesius (Valenciennes)
63. Rhinomugil corsula (Hamilton-Buchanan)
Family : Sphyraenidae
64. Sphyraena jello Cuvier
12. Order : Mastacembeliformes
Family : Mastacembelidae
1. Mastacembelus armatus Lacepede
2. Mastacembelus pancalus (Hamilton-Buchanan)
3. Macrognathus aculeatus (Bloch)
4. Macrognathus sp.
13. Order : Channiformes
Family : Channidae
1. Channa punctatus (Bloch)
2. Channa marulius (Hamilton-Buchanan)
3. Channa orientalis (Schneider)
14. Order : Cyprinidontiformes
Family : Hemiramphidae
1. Hyporhamphus limbatus(Valenciennes)
Family : Belonidae
2. Xenentodon cancila (Hamilton-Buchanan)
3. Strongylura strongylura(van Hasselt)
15. Order : Syngnathiformes
Family : Syngnathidae
1. Ichthyocampus carce (Hamilton-Buchanan)
16. Order : Scorpaeniformes
Family : Platycephalidae
1. Platycephalus indicus (Linnaeus)
17. Order : Tetradontiformes
Family : Tetradontidae
1. Chelonodon fluviatilis (Hamilton-Buchanan)
18. Order : Pleuronectiformes
Family : Cynoglossidae
1. Cynoglossus lingua (Hamilton-Buchanan)
2. Cynoglossus arel (Bloch and Schneider)
3. Cynoglossus cynoglossus (Hamilton-Buchanan)
4. Cynoglossus puncticeps (Richardson)
Family : Solidae
5. Eryglossa orientalis (Bloch & Schneider)
6. Synaptura commersoniana (Lacepede)
Family : Nandidae
12. Badis badis (Hamilton-Buchanan)
Family : Kurtidae
13. Kusrtus indicus Bloch
Family : Siganidae
14. Siganus javus (Linnaeus)
Family : Scatophagidae
15. Scatophagus argus (Linnaeus)
Family : Polynemidae
16. Polynemus paradiseus Linnaeus
17.Elutheronema tetradactylum (Shaw)
18. Polydactylus indicus (Shaw)
Family : Gobidae
19. Glossogobius giuris (Hamilton-Buchanan)
20. Pesudapocryptes lanceolatus (Bloch & Schneider)
21. Stigmatogobius sadanundio (Hamilton-Buchanan)
22. Stigmatogobius sp.
23. Periopthalmus Sp.
24. Boleopthalmus dussumieri Valenciennes
25. Boleopthalmus boddaertii (Valenciennes)
26. Gobiopterus chuno (Hamilton-Buchanan)
Family : Gobioididae
27. Odontamblyopus rubicundus (Hamilton-Buchanan)
28. Taenioides anguillaris (Linnaeus)
29. Taeniodes cirratus (Blyth)
Family : Eleotrididae
30. Eleotris fusca (Bloch & Schneider)
31. Butis butis (Hamilton-Buchanan)
Family : Sillaginidae
32. Sillago sihama (Forsskal)
33. Sillaginopsis panijus (Hamilton-Buchanan)
Family : Carangidae
34. Carangoides malabaricus (Bloch & Schneider)
35. Caranx carangus (Bloch)
36. Magalaspis cordyla (Linnaeus)
37. Scomberoides commersonnianus Lacepede
38. Scomberoides lysan (Forsskal)
39. Atropus atropus (Schneider)
40. Alectis indicus (Ruppell)
41. Gnathanodon speciosus (Forsskal)
Family : Scombridae
42. Scomberomorus guttatus (Bloch & Schneider)
43. Rastrelliger kanagurta (Cuvier)
Family : Stromatidae
44. Pampus argenteus (Euphrasen)
Family : Parastromatidae
45. Parastromateus niger (Bloch)
Family : Ephippididae
46. Drepene punctata (Linnaeus)
Family : Mullidae
47. Upeneus sulphurous Cuvier
Family : Teraponidae
48. Terapon jarbua (Forsskal)
Family : Trichiuridae
49. Trichiurus savala (Cuvier)
55
SOME FISH SPECIES FROM SUBARNAREKHA ESTUARY
Elops saurus
Notopterus notopterus
Escualosa thoracata
Anadontosoma chacunda
Coilia dussumieri
Labeo calbasu
Salmostoma bacaila
Barilius barila
56
SOME FISH SPECIES FROM SUBARNAREKHA ESTUARY
Ailia coila
Saurida tumbil
Ambasis nalua
Siganus javus
Scatophagus argus
Kurtus indicus
Trichiurus savala
Gerres filamentosa
57
SOME FISH SPECIES FROM SUBARNAREKHA ESTUARY
Dendrophysa russelli
Lobotes surinamensis
Lutjanus johni
Butis butis
Liza tade
Rhinomugil corsula
Ichthyocampus carce
Chaelondon fluviatilis
58
panijus from high saline zone, migrate into this area
and get entrapped. Likewise, fishes from upper
freshwater zone viz., Salmostoma bacaila,
Wallago attu, Glossogobius giuris, Xenentodon
cancila etc. also get entrapped in this deeper
pool. This fairly long and deeper area supports
a commercial fishery substantially, all through
the year including summer. Hyporhamphus
limbatus is a coastal species, which enters into
the estuary and sometimes even reaching
transitional zone. Reportedly, it may even be found
in the freshwater area of some estuaries. During
present survey this species of half-beak was,
however, not encountered in the freshwater zone
of the Subarnarekha estuary. All the members of
Order Cypriformes are restricted to the
freshwater stretch from Jaleswar to about 5-6 km
downstream, though S. bacaila was encountered
at Dahamunda also. Labeo calbasu was
dominant amongst the carps followed by Labeo
bata and Cirrhinus mrigala. Notopterus
notopterus, Chitala chitala, Sperata aor,
Wallago attu, Ompok pabda, Gagata cenia,
Mystus vittatus, Eutropichthys vacha,
Pangasius pangasius, Ailia coila etc. are also
found in the freshwater zone. Though G. giuris
demonstrated a wide range of distribution,
P. lanceolatus was encountered only from low
saline to transitional zone. At Dahamunda
Rhinomugil corsula constitute a sizeable fishery.
Lates calcarifer and Tenualosa ilisha, though not
frequent, are found in the transitional zone. Ilisha
elongata, I. filigera, Escualosa thoracata,
Sardinella spp., Anodontostoma chacunda,
Harpodon nehereus etc. are the prime
contributors in high saline zone fishery, besides
Tenualosa ilisha, Lates calcarifer, Lobotes
surinamensis, Arius spp., Pampus argentius,
Trichiurus spp., Sciaenids and mullets.
Bregmaceros mcclellandi, which was recorded
earlier in Hooghly estuary and Sundarbans
mangrove area (Ghosh and Satpathy, 2008) and
Godavari (Visweswar Rao, 1976; Ghosh and
Satpathy, 2009) has also been recorded from
Subarnarekha estuary, though the abundance of
the species was found to be meagre compared to
that from the lower Hooghly and Sundarbans
mangrove area. Elops saurus was encountered
in Subarnarekha ; but Ghosh (2008) could not
record the species in Hooghly estuary. The
presence of this species in Hooghly has, however
been reported by other authors (Talwar et al.,
1992). Sicamugil cascasia, a small mullet,
reported by Ghosh (2009) from the freshwater
zone of the Hooghly estuary, was not encountered
in the freshwater zone of Subarnarekha estuary.
Escualosa thoracata, a high saline zone species
inhabiting coastal waters, the juveniles of which
sometimes enter lower estuary (Talwar et al.,
1992) has recently been reported from
freshwater zone of Hooghly estuary (Chakrabarty
et al., 2009). Sinha et al. (1998), Ghosh (2008)
and Ghosh and Satpathy (2009), however, did not
make any reference to the species in Hooghly. In
Subarnarekha estuary this species has been
recorded only from the high saline zone and
probably is caught from coastal areas. Gudusia
chapra and Gonialosa manmina, the Clupeids
fairly common in the freshwater zone of the
Hooghly estuary and upper stretches of Ganga
river were not encountered in the Subarnarekha
estuary. Singh and Singh (1998) and Karmakar
et al. (2008) also did not record these two
species in Subarnarekha. Of the featherbacks
Chitala chitala has been found to be very rare.
Catla catla, locally known as ‘Bhakur’ was not
encountered in the freshwater zone, though the
fishermen and local inhabitants stated the species
to be occasionally caught at Jaleswar and
Dahamunda, especially in the post flood season.
Though three species of Elasmobranchs have been
recorded, there seems to be no special fisheries
for these species.
59
Salinity is one of the major factors governing fish
distribution. Differences in the salinity regime in
different areas influence habitat conditions and
therefore, the fish community. Although salinity is
considered a prime factor, there may be
other important factors, viz., silt deposition,
thermal variation in the estuarine ecosystem,
irrational fishing activities, paucity of freshwater
discharge, impact of pollutants, accumulated
non-biodegradable substances in a given area etc.,
which may operate to influence fish diversity. All
these may affect species composition either directly
or indirectly by affecting fish food abundance of a
given area in the estuary. Another important
aspect affecting fish diversity is the indiscriminate
release / casual entry of fish species not only by
way of ranching, but for other reasons as well.
Flooding of some areas during monsoon, when
huge areas alongside the estuary get inundated may
also result in entry of fish species including exotic
ones, altering biodiversity. In the Subarnarekha,
silting of the mouth has resulted in large sand bars,
mudflats and raised estuary bed, which virtually
restricts tidal ingress long enough landwards. This
has led to almost freshwater conditions to prevail
even during winter and summer months in the
upper reaches of the estuary from above
Ramnagar-Rasulpur. In a situation like this, the
movement of migratory species further up streams
is hindered.
monitoring of the ecosystem are required for
formulating proper management practices and
strategies for biodiversity conservation. The
estuary being the lowest portion of the river with
tidal influence, zonation sensa stricto with
reference to fish distribution may not always be
possible. Karmakar et al. (2008) also expressed
a similar view with regard to riverine portion of
Subarnarekha. In the absence of chronological
records of fish diversity, it has not been possible
to assess the time scale changes, which might have
taken place over last few decades. Some of the
species might have escaped our notice in this study
and therefore, continuous effort for updating the
fish biodiversity status in the estuary is suggested.
No alien species has been encountered during the
present survey in the Subarnarekha estuary.
However, Karmakar et al. (2008) have reported
the presence of common carp Cyprinus carpio
and mosquito fish, Gambusia affinis in the
riverine part at Gaaludih and Namkum respectively
in Jharkhand. It is also possible that the number of
species recorded during this study might have been
contaminated by some marine species.
APHA. 1980. Standard methods for the examination of
water and waste water. 15th edition., Washington D.C.,
American Public Health Association. 1134 p.
Acknowledgements
The authors express their gratitude to Dr. K. K.
Vass, former Director and Dr A.P. Sharma,
Director, CIFRI, Barrackpore for their keen
interest and encouragement. The services extended
by Shri F. Manna, Smt. Jacquiline, Shri T.
Chatterjee, Dr. A. K. Chattopadhyay, Technical
officers and Shri A. K. Jana, Shri D. Saha, Shri
A. K. Barui, Shri A. Roychowdhury, Shri
D. Sanfui, Shri S. Chowdhury, Shri M. N. Roy
are thankfully acknowledged.
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