INNOVATIONS IN INLAND OPEN WATERS

Central Inland Fisheries Research InstituteBarrackpore, Kolkata- 700 120

Dr. SAJINA A. M.

Inland open waters of Meghalaya

◦ Rivers & canals- 5,600 Km

◦ Reservoirs – 0.08 lakh ha

◦ Tanks & Ponds- 0.02 lakh ha

◦ Wetlands

Issues & Challenges

Need/Scope for Innovation

Introduction

Proper planning and development of fisheries-

need to assess and monitor inland water

resources

Issue- Scattered nature, Difficulty in accessibility,

Declining water area

Intervention- employ the remote sensing

technology for assessment of the fisheries

resources and GIS for management of resources

Mapping of water resources using GIS and remote sensing

Standardised the methodology for estimating water spread area of inland fisheries resources and their production status using GIS tools in West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh

Mapping of water resources using GIS and remote sensing

Mapping of water bodies in Punjab, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh

Preparation of electronic atlas for water bodies of >10 ha area in 6 States Kerala Karnataka, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Punjab, Haryana, Bihar

Digital Elevation Model of catchments and streams were created for four water bodies of West Bengal and six water bodies of Uttar Pradesh

Mapping of water resources using GIS and remote sensing

Issues

◦ More demand and less supply of affordable protein by all

◦ Capture fisheries production- more or less stagnant

Intervention- Production enhancement from

inland open water resources

◦ Stock enhancement/Ranching

◦ Pen culture

◦ Cage Farming

Cage farming in reservoirs

CIFRI providing technical assistance for the implementation of cage farming for table fish in 12 States under NMPS Andhra PradeshTamil NaduKarnatakaMadhya PradeshOrissaBiharJharkhandUttar Pradesh Himachal Pradesh

Cage farming in reservoirs and wetlands

Technology for carp seed raising in cages have

been developed; 150-210 no. of fish fingerlings

(80-100 mm) can be produced per cubic meter

of the cage at a cost of Rs 0.4/fingerling with a

cost benefit ratio of 2.5 to 2.7

Cage farming in reservoirs and wetlands

Issue-Overexploitation, Juvenile

fishing, Destructive fishing, Habitat

alteration

Intervention- Captive breeding and

culture

Hilsa (T.ilisha)- New Programme for

breeding, seed production and culture

under NFBSFARA

Captive breeding and culture of depleting fish resources

Issue- Changes in

temperature and

rainfall pattern

affecting the

biological cycle of

fishes

Intervention-

Harnessing the

beneficial effects of

climate change

Climate change action plan to minimize negative impacts and exploit new opportunities

Indian major carps Labeo rohita, Catla catla and Cirrhinus

mrigala of six states viz. West Bengal, Assam, Tripura,

Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh

Three coldwater fishes Schizothorax richardsonii,

Onchorhynchus mykiss and Tor putitora in Uttarakhand

Two estuarine fishes T. ilisha and Liza parsia in Hooghly

Matlah estuarine system

Climate change action plan to minimize negative impacts and exploit new opportunities

Study was conducted in fish

hatcheries of Andhra Pradesh,

Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh,

West Bengal, Assam and Tripura.

Hatcheries of N-24 Parganas, W.

B. - Reproductive maturity of IMC

has advanced by nearly one

month (from April to March) and

the duration of spawning has

extended by one month (from July

to August)

Climate change action plan to minimize negative impacts and exploit new opportunities

The breeding of rainbow trout record an

advancement of gonadal maturity as early as

January in the high altitude of Uttarakhand.

The IMC Labeo rohita presently is surviving

and growing in the pond waters of

Uttarakhand hills.

Climate change action plan to minimize negative impacts and exploit new opportunities

Intervention- Development of

environment mitigation

protocols through microbiological

and biotechnological interventions

Bioremediation of stressed aquatic ecosystems

Issue- Due to heavy pollution load, many

Indian rivers are losing or have lost their self-

purification ability and are now septic with toxic

and/or oxygen scavenging pollutants

• Six bacterial strains, capable of releasing phosphorous from calcium bound phosphate, were isolated from wetland sediments

• In process- Microbiological formulations for organic pollution degradation in aquatic environment

Bioremediation of stressed aquatic ecosystems• 17 phenol/ chlorophenol degrading bacteria

were isolated from Churni, Hooghly and Damodar rivers

• More than 150 bacteria have been isolated from different aquatic habitats for arsenic transformations; four strains having Arsenic reduction capability have been isolated and proven their roles in arsenic reduction and mobilization

Rapid field bio-assessment approach for addressing cumulative and / or synergistic impact of anthropogenic stressors on inland aquatic ecosystem

Fish based Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI), Health assessment Index (HAI), Habitat suitability index (HSI)

Capable of providing early warning signals for environmental degradation

Biotic indices for assessing environmental health of ecosystems

Issue- transformation of river ecosystems by

fragmenting channels and altering river flows

for hydropower generation and other purposes.

Intervention- To estimate the requirement of

minimum environmental flow in the river for

sustainable fishery

Environmental flow in river systems to sustain ecosystem properties and production

Various methods - Tennant method, Huges

& Munster method and Building block

method

North east- Nyamjang Chhu river of

Arunachal Pradesh

◦ Minimum water release of 3.5 cumecs from the

barrage will maintain conducive depth and flow

velocity of 0.55 m and 0.36 m/s respectively

Environmental flow in river systems to sustain ecosystem properties and production

An efficient and useful method to systematically describe ecosystems and to explore their properties

Provide valuable information on the health of reservoir habitats, as well as the capacity to support biological production and sustainable development

Software- Ecopath, Ecosim

Ecosystem based Mass balance modeling of reservoirs

Wyra reservoir, Andhra Pradesh

◦ First attempt in India on modelling a tropical productive reservoir

◦ To assess the impact of environmental management measures (implementation of fishing ban) taken to conserve the fish stocks in the reservoir

◦ Mass-balanced models of reservoir ecosystem were constructed for two periods, for 1995–1996 (pre-ban) and 2002–2003 (post –ban) using Ecopath

◦ The ecosystem indices indicate that the reservoir during post-ban phase was in a more resilient state (resistant to perturbations) compared to the pre-ban phase

◦ The ban was found to be useful in conserving the most prized prawn, Macrobrachium malcolmsonii in the reservoir

Ecosystem based Mass balance modeling of reservoirs

Kelavarapalli reservoir, Tamil Nadu

◦ First attempt in India to assess the impact of invasive fishes on the reservoir ecosystem through ecosystem-based approach

◦ Interesting observation in this study is that the most dominant invasive fish in this reservoir (Nile Tilapia) does not negatively impact any of the fish groups

◦ African Catfish - exerts a direct negative impact on its preys–indigenous catfishes, Pearl spot and Tilapia

Current data from the reservoir confirms the accuracy of the prediction from the model and Coimbatore District Collector issued orders banning culture and marketing of African catfish

Ecosystem based Mass balance modeling

Karapuzha reservoir, Kerala

◦Prey-predator interactions revealed that the major carps do not negatively impact the local fish species in the reservoir

Ecosystem based Mass balance modeling of reservoirs

Based on the results of this study, the Kerala Government decided to proceed with stocking of fishes in reservoirs of Kerala

Issues◦ Inland open water resources are complex and

multifunctional

◦ The decisions on sub-optimal or irrational use of inland waters are often taken due to lack of availability of information on goods and services provided by them and their actual value

Intervention-Concept of estimation of the actual monetary

value of the goods and services comprising the ecological,

economic and social aspects.

Purpose-To ensure conservation

Valuation of goods and services in inland open-waters

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