The Deccan Mahseer Fishes Their Ecostatus and Threat Percepts

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India has vast aquatic resources with varied eco-climatic zones, which harbour a rich fish germ plasm resource. Out of 20,000 species of fishes known so far the world over 11% are in our country, About 2200 freshwater fish species have been reported by the National Bureau of Fish Genetic resources out of which 73 species (3.32%) are found in coldwater, 544 (24.72%) in warm freshwater, 143 (6.51%) in brackish water and 1440 (65.45%) in our vast marine waters (Das, 1994). Available statistics show that India has vast potential for fishery resources and about 29,000 km length of rivers and about 1,13,000 km of canals, about 1.75 million ha of identified water spread in the form of reservoirs and about one million ha in the form of lakes and ponds (Dehadrai, 1987). In this invaluable aquatic resource the fishes of the family Cyprinidae comprising Carps form an important constituent. The Mahseer fishes belonging to this family differ in their size, flavour, activity from the true caps of Europe. It occupies the most important place among the Game fishes of India. The very name Mahseer invokes nostalgic memories of limitless pleasure of angling for the fish in calm, cool and dales in the mountains of Himalaya, the Western and Eastern Ghats of our country. A good number of game fish lovers and enthusiasts would vouchsafe for the thrills they have enjoyed in hooking a ten pounder and also of the fellows, which gave them a fight and ran away. Innumerable records are known of landings of large sized mahseers and the challenges they posted to get them. The thrill when a big one swallows your bait and the 12-pound line whirrs away into the rapids leaving you gasping in excitement is an unparalleled and inexplicable experience. Records of Mahseers upto to a length of 1.7 meters and weighing nearly a quintal or so are known (Thomas, 1897; Burton, 1940). The Putitor Mahseer or the Golden Mahseer is known to reach a size of 2.7 meters in length. "Mussullah" of the Decan has tilted the scales at 54.1 kg in Karnataka rivers (Burton, 1945, Hora, 1943).

ABOUT THE AUTHOR K C Jayaram

Dr. K.C. Jayaram, former joint director, Zoological Survey of India has been active in freshwater fish taxonomy and Zoogeography since 1947. He has covered many river systems for their fish fauna such as Brahmputra, Cauvery, Krishna and Mahanadi through intensive surveys. His work on the Cauvery fish Fauna is a comprehensive first-time account of the fish fauna of the entire river system. This work served as the basis for an integrated research programme on the same river funded by the ministry of Environment and Forests. Eleven post-graduate colleges and six Universities participated in this three year programme. Dr. Jayaram was the director of this project and results are under publication under his executive editorship. He is a member of many scientific committees and his advice is sought after in biodiversity, river ecology matters specially in respect of the fish fauna. He is a D.Sc. of Madras University and a Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy, Allahabad, Zoological Society of India, Bhubaneshwar and Madras Science Foundation, Chennai. He was awarded the prestigious Pitambar Pant National Environment Fellowship by the Ministry of Environment and Forests and is currently studying the eco-status of the Deccan Mahseer fishes. He has trained and guided a number of students who occupy important positions. He has to his credit about 120 papers including several monographs published in India and abroad. His earlier book on the same subject was universally acclaimed and ran out of print fast. He is considered on of the leading authorities on the freshwater fish fauna of the Indian region.