The Ichthyofaunal Diversity in the Freshwater Rivers of South Dinajpur District of West Bengal, India

2008·3 MB·

by  Tathagata Chakraborty

Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society, 105 (3), Sep-Dec 2008 292-298
THE ICHTHYOFAUNAL DIVERSITY IN THE FRESHWATER RIVERS OF SOUTH DINAJPUR
DISTRICT OF WEST BENGAL, INDIA
TathagataChakraborty1 andSoumenBhattacharjee2
'DepartmentofZoology,BalurghatCollege, P.O.Balurghat,DistrictSouthDinajpur733 101,WestBengal,India.
Email: [email protected]
^Department of Zoology, University of North Bengal, P.O. North Bengal University, Raja Rammohunpur,
Dt. Darjeeling 734 013, West Bengal, India. Email: [email protected]
A steady decline in fish catch per year through the past decades, and selective decline ofcertain prized small table
fishes in the rivers ofthe district have not been addressed so far. This study, therefore, aims to estimate the present
statusoftheannualfishcatchofSouthDinajpurdistrict.WestBengal,withreferencetothespeciescompositionofthe
rivers and kharis during pre-monsoon, monsoon and post-monsoon seasons. In this two-year long survey, we have
identified 5 orders, 6 suborders, 17 families, 11 subfamilies, 40 genera and 49 fish species and a few rarely caught
species fromthe rivers, kharisandheelsofthe district.
Keywords: riverine ichthyofaunaldiversity. South Dinajpur, speciescomposition
INTRODUCTION
riversandstreamsenterthedistrictfromBangladeshandleave
thedistricttoenteragaintoeitherBangladeshoraneighbouring
TheaquaresourcesofIndiainclude2.02millionsq.km district.However,manyriversoriginatefromothermajorriver
ofan Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) ofsurrounding seas, systems north ofBangladesh, and also from India.
approximately 29,000 km length ofrivers, c. 1,13,000kmof The productivity ofthe cultured fish is less than 2 tons
canals,c. 1.75millionhaofexistingwater-spreadintheformof per hectare per year in the district, which can be enhanced
reservoirs, c. 1 million hain theformoftanksand ponds, and considerablywiththehelpofscientificextensionprogrammes
c.0.6millionhaofstagnant,derelict,swampywaterspreadareas (Rao 2001). However, there is noconcrete dataregardingthe
(Jhingran 1991).About2,200tinfishspecieshavebeenrecorded statusoffishcatchfromtheopenwaterbodies.Asteadydecline
fromdifferentecosystemsofIndia,whichis 11%oftheworld in fish catch peryearthrough the past decades, and selective
fish germplasm (Sinha 1998). Of these, 400 species are decline in thecatch ofcertainprized, smalltable fishesin the
commerciallyimportant.Theseincludecultured,cultivableand riversofthedistricthavenotbeenaddressedsofar.Therefore,
wildspecies.Theecosystem-wisedistributionoffishgermplasm the present study aims towards estimating the present status
resourcesofIndiaare: cold water(73; 3.3%), warmwatersof ofthe annual fishcatchincapturefisheriesofthedistrictwith
theplains(544;24.73%),brackishwater(143;6.50%)andmarine reference to the species composition ofthe rivers and kharis
water 1440;65.45%)(Anon 1992-93;Das 1994). during pre-monsoon, monsoon and post-monsoon seasons.
(
This study aims to estimate the species composition of To the best ofour knowledge, no such study with regard to
the rivers, kharis, khals and heels ofSouth Dinajpur district. cataloguing the fish species hasbeen undertaken priorto this
West Bengal. The South Dinajpurdistrict forms a part ofthe study in this district. Therefore, this study gives an idea
erstwhileundividedWestDinajpur,createdoutoftheDinajpur regarding the ichthyo-biodiversity status ofthe endemic fish
districtin 1947atthetimeofpartitionofIndia.Itwasthensplit stocks of the district. Two potential breeding grounds were
intotwodistrictsin 1992-onebeingDakshinorSouthDinajpur also identified, namely the Danga Beel, near Balurghat
andtheotherUttarorNorthDinajpur(Table 1;Fig. 1). aerodromeandGochinaBeel,nearTrimohini,Hiliblock.
Thedistricthasfournorthtosouthflowingmajorrivers,
namely Atrai, Punarbhaba, Tangon and Jamuna. Atrai and List ofabbreviations used in text:
PunarbhabaoriginateinIndia,atthefoothillsoftheHimalayas EEZ - Exclusive Economic Zone
and pass through Bangladesh to enter India again in South ZSI-Zoological SurveyofIndia
Dinajpur.TheserivershaveconnectionswithTeestadrainage
METHODOLOGY
system, especially during the monsoon. Besides these rivers,
there are a number of drainage channels, locally known as
kharis, khals, or heels (Tables 2, 3, 4 and 5). The relevant Surveysindifferentriversandkharisofthedistrict
details ofresources available fordevelopment offisheries in Atwo-yearsurvey(2004-2006)wasundertakeninmajor
thedistrictareshownintheTable6(Rao2001).Almosuillthe rivers,likeAtrai,Punarbhaba,Tangan,Jamuna,inminorrivers,
ICHTHYOFAUNAL DIVERSITY IN THE FRESHWATER RIVERS OF SOUTH DINAJPUR
Fig. 1: DistrictmapofSouthDinajpur,WestBengal. Mapshowsdistrictblocks,majorandminorriversandadjoiningdistricts
ofBangladeshbesides,twoBeetsnamely, DangaandGochina. Fishsamplecollectionstationsaremarkedasfilledcirclesbytheside
ofeachmajorriver(Mapnotdrawntoscale)
like Ichhamoti, and in kharis like, Kalkali, Kashiani and by the sides ofmajor rivers ofthe district. Fishes were also
Brahmani. Beels visited were Danga and Gochina. Surveys collected from various fishermen.
were also undertaken at different landing centers and fish Fishes were collected and immediately kept in neutral
markets. 10%Formalin inaplasticjar,andthen preservedin specimen
jarscontaining4-6% Formalin atthe Zoology Departmentof
FieldSurveys BalurghatCollege,Balurghat.Thespecimenjarswerelabelled
Intotal,forty-sixfieldstudieswereundertakeninmajor properly and stored for further studies. Local names of the
riverswithassistancefromfishermen(Haidars),whoprovided fishes were recorded on site, and size, colour and any
boats, and various types of nets and manpower. The rivers peculiarities,ifpresent,werenotedandthefishesphotographed.
and kharis were divided into well-marked zones keeping in
mind the flow patterns, average water depth, location of Table 1: District profile
villages of local fishermen community and accessibility of Sub-Divisions: 2 Blocks: 8 Municipalities: 2
theregions. Nettings weredoneextensivelyintheselanding Balurghat Balurghat Balurghat
stationsduringthreeperiods,namelypre-monsoon(February- (District Headquarter)
May), monsoon (June-September) and post-monsoon GangarampuratBuniadpur Hili Gangarampur
Kumarganj
(October-January). In case of habitat ground surveys,
Tapan
photographsoftheareaandstreamsindifferentseasonswere Gangarampur
taken. Kushmandi
Surveys were conducted at different markets and Banshihari
Harirampur
landingcentersregularlyindifferentseasons.Marketsurveys
includedimportantfishmarketsin bigtownsthatarelocated (Source: Dakshin Dinajpur District Profile URL)
1 Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., 105 (3), Sep-Dec 2008 293
1
ICHTHYOFAUNAL DIVERSITY IN THE FRESHWATER RIVERS OF SOUTH DINAJPUR
Table2: LargeriversinSouthDinajpurdistrict Table4: ListofKhariand KhalsinSouth Dinajpurdistrict
Name of Enters Leaves Dakshin Blocks NameofKhari/Khal NameofKhari/Khal
Major Rivers Dakshin Dinajpurat Traversed
Dinajpurat RiverGhagra Bhonar
RiverCheri Kasiani
Atrai Samjia Dangi Kumarganj + Ghukshiri Barakharia
Balurghat Pagliganj Kochakona
Kalkali Harbhanga
Punarbhaba Abidpur Nababhagar Gangarampur+ Shyamnagar Balia
(Gangarampur) Tapan
Tangan Basudebpur Binhari Kushmandi+
Banshihari Fishes like Bhada Badis badis (Hamilton-Buchanan),
Nandos Nandus nandus (Hamilton-Buchanan) and Khursa
Jamuna Agra Baikunthapur Hili Labeo dero (Hamilton-Buchanan) have not been reported
fromtheriversoftheSouthDinajpurdistrictforthelastfifteen
Identificationofbreedinggrounds years. We report presence oftwo specimens ofBadis badis,
Two potential habitats - Danga Beel, near Balurghat oneeachfromAtraiandJamunarivers(Table7).Hilsa[HiIsa
aerodrome,andtheGochinaBeel,nearTrimohini,Hiliblock- (Tenualosa)ilisha(Hamilton-Buchanan)]earlierreportedfrom
identified in the first year ofsurvey were taken up for more Atrai river (local fishermen’s catches) during late monsoon
studies. Another prospective breeding ground was the was not found in this study.
BhalukabeelintheHiliblock. Another interesting find was a single specimen of
Amblyceps mangois (Hamilton-Buchanan) (local name: Tele
Makingofan inventry Tengra)fromJamunariverofHiliBlock(Table7).Thisfishis
Collected and preserved fishes were identified using foundusually on the pebbly beds offast flowing rivers atthe
standard taxonomic procedures following standard literature baseofhills(TalwarandJhingran 1991).ShawandShebbeare
(ShawandShebbeare 1937;Menon 1974;Jhingran 1991;Talwar (1937)havealsoreportedthisfishfromJamunariver.Asingle
andJhingran 1991 Menon 1999;Jayaram 1999)andwiththe specimenofAcanthophthalmuspangia(Hamilton-Buchanan)
;
helpfromtheFisheryDivisionofZSI,DepartmentofZoology, (local name: Pahari Puye) was collected from Jamuna river
Calcutta University, and Meen Bhawan, Balurghat, South (Table7).Thisfishisreportedfromtheteraiandduarsareaof
Dinajpur. Intotal,forty-ninespecieshavebeenidentified. north West Bengal (Shaw and Shebbeare 1937; Talwar and
Jhingran 1991).WecollectedafewspecimensofContaconta
RESULTS (Hamilton-Buchanan)fromAtrairiver;itisusuallyfoundinthe
rockystreamsofnorthWestBengalatthebaseoftheHimalayas
Wehaveidentified5orders,6suborders, 17families, 1 (TalwarandJhingran 1991).
subfamilies, 40 genera and 49 fish species from the rivers, Waterbody-wise categorization and documentation of
kharis and beels of the district during the two-year long availablefisheshas beendepicted inTable 7.
survey(Table7).
DISCUSSION
Table3:SmallriversinSouthDinajpurdistrict
Over the past few years, there has been a steady and
Name of Enters Leaves Blocks un-replenishabledeclineinthefishcatch.Afewspecieshave
MajorRivers Dakshin Dakshin Traversed
become rare in the markets overthe pastcouple ofdecades.
Dinajpurat Dinajpurat
Thisdeclinecanbeattributedtoafewapparentcauses:rising
Ichhamoti North of Opensto Kumarganj riverbeds, less precipitation and waterflow, rampant use of
Thalsama Atrai drag nets made up ofmosquito nets and degradation ofthe
Brahmani Comesoutof Northof Gangarampur+ breeding grounds, inthe districtorprobably intheupstream
(KhariWke) Punarbhabaat Lakshmipur Tapan regions ofthe neighbouringcountry Bangladesh. There was
Debipur also a possibility of the presence of polluting substances
Tulai Suihara Opensto Kushmandi from the agricultural run-offs entering the riverine system,
Tangan at whichcontributedtothe declineoffish population. In order
Chandpur
totakemeasurestoconservethefishgermplasmandreplenish
294 J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., 105 (3), Sep-Dec 2008
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ICHTHYOFAUNAL DIVERSITY IN THE FRESHWATER RIVERS OF SOUTH DINAJPUR
Table5: ListofBeels Table 6: Details of resources ofthe district
NameofBee Position 1. NetWaterArea 8,260ha
(i) of which a) Culturable 2,260ha
Danga Between Kalkali Khari b) Derelict 2,603ha
Bhaluka Nearthe international border, c. 1.5 km north of (ii) of which ca))PSreimvia-tdeerelict 36,,319777hhaa
Trimohini
Gochina Jamalpurmouza, Chagaldanga, Hili Block 2. Numberofpersobn)sVeensgtaegdedin 311,,524635ha
theprofession (12,322families)
the dwindling natural fish population, it is imperative that 3. Approximateannualproduction 9,151 tons
we assess the current status of the ichthyofaunal diversity 4. NumberofFlatcheries 11 (Govt.-I
oftheriversandnaturalwaterbodiesofthedistrict. Sinceno Private-10)
5. CooperativeSocieties:-
known published data regarding the diversity of riverine (i) CentralFishermenCoop.Societies 1
fishes of the district was available, we intended to build (ii) PrimaryFishermenCoop.Societies 10
up the initial inventory, through a two-year long survey (iii) MembershipoftheCoop.Societies 3,147
(2004-2006). (Source: Rao2001)
During this survey, we assessed the total number of
fishspeciespresentinthemajorandminorriversoftheSouth distributedalongthefoothillsofHimalayasfromthe Kangra
Dinajpur district. A few species like Salmostoma bacaila, Valley (Himachal Pradesh) to Assam in India and attains a
Amblypharyngodon mold Barilius barna Barilius shacra, length of about 12.5 cm (Talwar and Jhingran 1991). The
, ,
Esomus danricus, Lepidocephalus guntea, Botia dario, specimenobtainedbyusfromJamunariverofHili Block,isa
Danio devario Mystus bleekeri Mystus vittatus, Ailia juvenile ofabout 6.35 cm. Acanthophthalmuspangia (local
, ,
punctata Eutropiichthys murius Eutropiichthys vacha name: Pahari Puye) is distributed in north-eastern West
, , ,
Xenentodon cancila Chanda nama Glossogobius giuris, Bengal and Manipur, and attains a length of about 6.5 cm
, ,
Channa punctatus, Macrognathus pancalus and (TalwarandJhingran 1991).Thesinglespecimenobtainedby
Mastacembelus armatus were numerous. However, species us from Jamuna riverofHili Block is about 5.08 cm. Conta
like Badis badis, Amblyceps mangois Acanthophthalmus Catfish orContaconta (local name: unknown) isreportedto
,
pangia, Conta conta and Crossocheilus latius lathis were be distributedatthe base ofHimalaya in northWest Bengal,
,
rare and only one ortwo specimens ofeach were caught. AssamandMeghalayaandattainsalengthof7.8cm(Talwar
Someofthefishspeciesmaybeaccidentalfindsinthis andJhingran 1991).ContaCatfishescollectedfromAtrairiver
area, like Amblyceps Acanthophthalmus and Conta which areofvarioussizes,attainingabout7.62cm.Furtherecological
,
are adapted to andreported from the fast flowing rivers and and genetical studies are needed to compare these species
streams of the Himalayan foothills. Indian Torrent Catfish with those found in the northern regions and to explore the
(BilliFish)Amblycepsmangois(local name: TeleTengra)is possibilityoftheiradaptive radiation.
Table7: River-wisecategorizationoffishcatch
Species Atrai Punarbhaba Tangon Jamuna
ClassOsteichthyes
SubclassActinopterygii
SubdivisionTeleostei
OrderCypriniformes
FamilyCyprinidae
SubfamilyCyprininae
1. Catlacatla(Hamilton-Buchanan) + + + +
2. Cirrhinusmrigala(Flamilton-Buchanan) + + + +
3. Cirrhinusreba(Flamilton-Buchanan) + + - +
4. Labeobata(Hamilton-Buchanan) + + + +
5. Labeocalbasu(Hamilton-Buchanan) + + + +
6. Labeorohita(Hamilton-Buchanan) + + + +
7. Puntiusconchonius(Hamilton-Buchanan) + + + +
8. Puntiussaranasarana(Hamilton-Buchanan) + + + +
9. Puntiussophore(Hamilton-Buchanan) + + + +
10. Puntiusticto(Hamilton-Buchanan) + - - -
J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.; 105 (3), Sep-Dec 2008 295
ICHTHYOFAUNAL DIVERSITY IN THE FRESHWATER RIVERS OF SOUTH DINAJPUR
Table7: River-wisecategorizationoffishcatch (contd.)
Species Atrai Punarbhaba Tangon Jamuna
Subfamily Cultrinae
11. Salmostomabacaila(Hamilton-Buchanan) + + + +
SubfamilyRasborinae
12. Amblypharyngodonmola(Hamilton-Buchanan) + + + +
13. Aspidopariamorar(Hamilton-Buchanan) + + - -
14. Bariliusbarna(Hamilton-Buchanan) + + + +
15. Bariliusshacra(Hamilton-Buchanan) + + + +
16. Daniodevario(Hamilton-Buchanan) + + + +
17. Esomusdanricus(Hamilton-Buchanan) + + + +
SubfamilyGarrinae
18. Crossocheiluslatiuslatius(Hamilton-Buchanan) - - - +
FamilyPsilorhynnchidae
19. Psilorhynchussucatio(Hamilton-Buchanan) + + + +
FamilyCobitidae
SubfamilyCobitinae
20. Lepidocephalusguntea(Hamilton-Buchanan) + + - +
21 Acanthophthalmuspangia(Hamilton-Buchanan) - - - +
.
22. Somileptusgongota(Hamilton-Buchanan) + + + +
SubfamilyBotiinae
23. Botiadario(Hamilton-Buchanan) + + - +
Order2Siluriformes
FamilyBagridae
24. Mystusbleekeri(Day) + + + +
25. Mystusvittatus(Bloch) + + + +
26. Ritarita(Hamilton-Buchanan) + + + +
FamilySiluridae
27. Ompokpabda(Hamilton-Buchanan) + + + +
28. Wallagoattu(Schneider) + + + +
SubfamilyAiliinae
29. Ailiapunctata(Day) + + - -
SubfamilySchilbeinae
30. Clupisomagarua(Hamilton-Buchanan) + + + +
31 Eutropiichthysmurius(Hamilton-Buchanan) + + - -
.
32. Eutropiichthysvacha(Hamilton-Buchanan) + +
FamilyPangasiidae
33. Pangasiuspangasius(Hamilton-Buchanan) + + + +
34. Amblycepsmangois(Hamilton-Buchanan) - - - +
Family Sisoridae
35. Contaconta(Hamilton-Buchanan) +
36. ErethistespussilusMuller&Troschel + - - -
37. ErethistoidesmontanamontanaHora + - - -
38. SisorrhabdophorusHamilton-Buchanan + - - +
FamilyClariidae
39. Clariasbatrachus(Linnaeus) + + + +
296 J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., 105 (3), Sep-Dec 2008
ICHTHYOFAUNAL DIVERSITY IN THE FRESHWATER RIVERS OF SOUTH DINAJPUR
Table7: River-wisecategorizationoffishcatch contd
( .)
Species Atrai Punarbhaba Tangon Jamuna
OrderCyprinodontiformes
SuborderExocoetoidei
FamilyBelonidae
40. Xenentodoncancila(Hamilton-Buchanan) + + + +
OrderPerciformes
SuborderPercoidei
FamilyChandidae
41. ChandanamaHamilton-Buchanan + + + +
FamilyNandidae
SubfamilyBadinae
42. Badisbadis(Hamilton-Buchanan) + _ _ +
SuborderGobioidei
FamilyGobiidae
SubfamilyGobiinae
43. Glossogobiusgiuris(Hamilton-Buchanan) + + +
SuborderAnabantoidei
FamilyAnabantidae
44. Anabastestudineus(Bloch) + + + +
FamilyBelontidae
Subfamily Trichogasterinae
45. Colisafasciatus(Schneider) + + + +
SuborderChannoidei
FamilyChannidae
46. Channapunctatus(Bloch) + + + +
SuborderMastacembeloidei
Family Mastacembelidae
47. MacrognathuspancalusHamilton-Buchanan + + + +
48. Mastacembelusarmatus(Lacepede) + + + +
OrderTetraodontiformes
Family Tetraodontidae
49. TetraodoncutcutiaHamilton-Buchanan + + +
TotalFishSpecies 46 40 31 41
(+): Found;(-): NotFound
Inthehabitatgroundsurveys,wehavefoundnumerous ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
small hatchlings and fries ofminor carps, spiny eels, snake
heads, gobies and perches during the early monsoon. ThisstudywasfinanciallysupportedbytheUniversity
Prospectivebreedingground, likeDangabeelremainsalmost GrantsCommissionMinorResearchProject[MRPNo.F.PSW-
dry during the dry periods with only a thin stream (Kalkali 069/03-04 (ERO)] awarded to the corresponding author
Khari) flowing through it. The area is used for cultivation (Principal Investigator) at the Department of Zoology,
during this period, which often gets over flooded during Balurghat College (Govt. Sponsored), South Dinajpur. The
monsoon.Thefishfriesarecarriedalongthekharithatopens authorsalsoacknowledgethehelpextendedbythePrincipal,
toAtrairiveratBalurghattown.Thehabitatsurveywithregards Balurghat College,Assistant DirectorofFisheries, Dakshin
tophysico-chemicalparametersandwaterqualityassessment Dinajpur, BalurghatandZoological SurveyofIndia,Fishery
vis-a-visfishspeciesavailabilitywill bepublishedlater. Division,Kolkata.
J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., 105 (3), Sep-Dec 2008 297
ICHTHYOFAUNAL DIVERSITY IN THE FRESHWATER RIVERS OF SOUTH DINAJPUR
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