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Fish Fauna of the Brahmaputra River, Bangladesh: Richness, Threats and Conservation Needs

Shams Muhammad Galib
Aquatic Biodiversity Lab, Department of Fisheries, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi 6205, Bangladesh

Abstract/ Executive Summary:

The Brahmaputra River is one of the largest rivers in the world as well as in Bangladesh. The present study was carried out for a period of one year from January to December 2013 with a view to assessing the availability of fishes in the river with species emphasis on species richness, existing threats and conservation issues. Daytime and night sampling were carried out in three sites located along the upstream to downstream course of the river on a monthly basis. Three fishing gears including cast net, seine net and drag net and one fishing trap were employed to collect fishes. A total of 67 finish species including 63 indigenous and 4 exotic/alien species have been recorded belonging to 46 genera, 24 families and 8 orders. Cypriniformes and Cyprinidae were the most dominating order (21 species) family (15 species) of native fishes. A small portion (2%) of native fishes was globally threatened. Over one third of total species (38%) were considered threatened to extinct species in Bangladesh. Population trend of over two third of total fish species was Declining in the river. Major threats were alien/invasive species, banned fishing gears and loss of habitats.

Keywords: Brahmaputra River, Conservation, Fish fauna, Population trend, Freshwater

Location: Brahmaputra River, Bangladesh

Start Date: 00-01-2013

End Date: 00-12-2013

Program Area: Animal Health and Management

Commodity: Fish

Objectives:

To figure out the available fish fauna of the river Brahmaputra in Bangladesh.

Methodology:

The Brahmaputra River, originates in the Chemayung-Dung glacier, is one of the largest rivers in the world; with its basin covering areas in China, India and Bangladesh. The total length of the river from its source in southwestern Tibet to the mouth in the Bay of Bengal is about 2,850 km; including Padma and Meghna rivers up to the mouth. Inside Bangladesh territory, Brahmaputra-Jamuna is 276 km long, of which Brahmaputra is only 69 km. Three sites located along the upstream to downstream course of the river were sampled for a period of one year from January to December 2013. All three sampling sites are in Gaibandha district of Bangladesh-Chandipur of Sundarganj Upazila (sub-district), Mollarchar of Gaibandha proper Upazila and Fulchari Ghat of Fulchari Upazila. Daytime (9:00-17:00) and night (20:00-05:00) sampling was carried out at all the sampling spots on a monthly basis during the one year study. Fishing was done with the help of professional fishermen in the river. Three fishing gears including cast net, seine net and drag net and one fishing trap (Kholsun) were employed to collect fishes and also allowed to sample a wide range fish size. The mesh size of fishing nets varied between 1 and 5 cm. Specimen of rare species was collected and preserved only. Representative specimen were fixed in 20-30% formalin solution and transferred to the Aquatic Biodiversity Lab at the Department of Fisheries, University of Rajshahi. In laboratory collected specimens were washed thoroughly and stored in 10% formalin solution in glass jars. Based on the database of IUCN (2015) global conservation status and global population trend of a particular species were determined. Local conservation status is based on books of threatened fishes by IUCN Bangladesh (2000). Local population trend was determined by interviewing the professional fishermen in the study areas. A total of 75 fishermen, 25 from each sampling site, were asked to state the present status of each species compared to the status of concerned species 20 years ago. They were not asked to provide statistical data but to rank each species as: Decreasing or Increasing or Stable or Unknown, just like the population trends categories of IUCN. The rank of species came out from the majority of fishermen was considered only. All the fishermen had a fishing experience of at least 20 years in the river Brahmaputra and they were selected randomly for interview. Simple descriptive analysis and graphical presentation of data were carried out using Microsoft Excel (version 2007). In addition to this one, SPSS (Statistical Packages for Social Sciences, version 15.00) was also used.

Source of Information: Journal of Fisheries, Volume 3 Issue 3 Pages: 285-292 December 2015, eISSN 2311-3111

Article Link (Online Journal): http://journal.bdfish.org/index.php/fisheries/article/download/120/JFish_285_292

Funding Source:

Budget:

Total Budget (Tk.) :

Achievement/Findings:

A total of 67 finish species including 63 indigenous and 4 exotic/alien species have been recorded belonging to 46 genera, 24 families and 8 orders. Cypriniformes and Cyprinidae were the most dominating order (21 species) family (15 species) of native fishes. A small portion (2%) of native fishes was globally threatened. Over one third of total species (38%) were considered threatened to extinct species in Bangladesh. Population trend of over two third of total fish species was Declining in the river. Major threats were alien/invasive species, banned fishing gears and loss of habitats.

Knowledge Management: Journal