The Ganga river system

          The Ganga river system is the largest river system in India. This system alone harbours
not less than 265 species of fish. It consists of two rivers namely, the Ganga and Yamuna and
their tributaries. The total combined length of the Gangetic river system is 12,500 km. Its
total catchment area is 97.6 million ha (9.71 lakh km2). It is one among the largest river
systems in the world. Its water comprises the icy cold Himalayan streams and the warm,
biologically more productive waters of the North Indian plains. This system drains the
southern slopes of the central Himalayas and covers the states of Haryana, Uttar pradesh,
Bihar, West Bengal and parts of Rajasthan and Madhya pradesh. This system harbours the
richest freshwater fish fauna of India, ranging from Mahseers and the torrential fishes of hills
to the cultivable Gangetic carps, Hilsa and other species.

The Ganga

Ganga is the longest river of India. The total length of the Ganga river from its source to its
mouth (measured along the Hooughli) is 2525 km of which 1450 km is in the Uttar Pradesh,
445 km in Bihar and 520 km in West Bengal. The remaining 110 km stretch of the Ganga
forms the boundary between Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The Ganga originates as Bhagirathi
from the Gangotri glacier in Uttar Kashi District in the Himalayas about 3129 m above m.s.l.
It is joined by the Alaknanda at Devaprayag and the combined flow of the Bhagirathi and the
Alaknanda is known as Ganga. After traveling 280 km from its source, Ganga enters plains at
Haridwar. At Allahabad, about 770 km south-east of Haridwar, Ganga is joined by Yamuna,
which is its most important tributary. After Farraka in West Bengal, the river ceases to be
known as the Ganga. It bifurcates itself into Bhagirathi-Hooughli in West Bengal and Padma-
Meghna in Bangladesh. After traversing 220 km further down in Bangladesh, the
Brahmaputra joins it at Goalundo and after meeting Meghna 100 km downstream the Ganga
joins the Bay of Bengal. Its principal tributaries from the northern drainage are the rivers
Ramganga, Gomti and Tons while those from the southern watershed are Chambal, Betwa
and Ken (tributaries of the river Yamuna). In Bihar, it receives the very important tributaries
like the Ghagra, Gandak, Burhi, Sone, Bagmati and Koshi.

The Yamuna

          The Yamuna is the largest tributary river of the Ganges in northern India. Originating
from the Yamunotri Glacier in Tehri Garwal (Uttar Pradesh) at a height 6,387 m. above m.s.l
in the Himalayas, on the south western slopes of Banderpooch peaks, in the Lower
Himalayas, it travels a total length of 1,376 kilometers and has a drainage system of 366,223
km2. It crosses several states, Uttarakhand, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, passing by Himachal
Pradesh and later Delhi, and meets several of its tributaries on the way, including Tons, its
largest and longest tributary, Chambal, which has its own large basin, followed by Sindh, the
Betwa, and Ken. It flows through Delhi and joins the Ganga at Allahabad.

Fish and Fisheries of the Ganga river system

          More than 265 species of fishes have been recorded from this river system. The
endangered Ganges River Dolphin (Platanista gangetica gangetica) is primarily found in the
Ganges and Brahmaputra Rivers and their tributaries in Bangladesh, India and Nepal. The
head waters of the Ganga system in the upper reaches of the Himalaya have snow trouts,
catfishes, mahseers, lesser barils. Upto an elevation of 1067 m, mahseers, Tor putitora, T.
tor and Acrosscheilus hexagonolepis, Bagarius bagarius and Labeo dero form main food
fishes. In the plains, carps, catfishes (Osteobangrus aor and O. seenghala, collectively called
tengra), Wallago attu , Hilsa ilisha,Pangasius, Notopterus etc. constitute the fishery. The
prawns, Macrobrachium malcolmsoni and Palaemon lamarrei are also found. The catch
statistics over the years indicate some disturbing trends in this riverine fisheries system. The
biologically and economically desirable species have started giving way to the low value
species, exhibiting an alarming swing in the population structure of the Gangetic carps. A
survey indicates that contribution of Indian major carps has declined from 44.5% to 8%
during the later half of the 20th century. In addition, there is an increasing domination of
lower age groups in the commercial catches. The fishery of anadromousHilsa have declined
by 96% upstream of Farakka after construction of the Farakka Barrage in1974 due to
obstruction of the migration route of the fish.

 Fishing gears used

          Fishing gears used in the Gangetic system include dip net, cast net, purse net, drag net,
drift net, trawl net, bag net, long lines, small trap net etc.,

The Brahmaputra river system

          The combined length of the Brahmaputra riverine system is 4,023 km. It originates
from a great glacier near Mansarovar Lake. It is slightly longer than the Indus, but most of its
course lies outside India. It flows eastward, parallel to the Himalayas. It traverses for its first
1,600 km through Tibet, where it is known as ‘Tsangpo‘. There, it receives less volume of
water and has less silt. But in India, it passes through a region of heavy rainfall and as such,
the river carries a large amount of rainfall and considerable amount of silt.

          Afer flowing through Tibet, it flows through Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and
Bangladesh. Then, it joins the Ganga at Golaundo. After confluencing with Ganga, the united
rivers flow under the name of Padma reaching the Bay of Bengal through the Great Maghna
estuary. It has got a large number of tributaries. The Brahmaputra valley is marked for its
abandoned river beds, which are subjected to annual inundations. These areas are called,
beels. It drains the northern slopes of the Central and Eastern Himalayas, Assam, Bhutan,
Sikkim and parts of Northwest Bengal. The total catchment area of this river in India is
1,87,110 km2 (51 million ha). It has a rich fish fauna of torrential streams in its upper reaches
(low economic value) and its middle and lower reaches have several species of carps,
catfishes and air breathing fishes, anadromous Hilsa (high economic value).

 Fish and Fisheries of the Brahmaputra river system

          A total of 126 species of fishes belonging to 26 families have been recorded from this
system. Of these, 41 species are known to have commercial importance. Catfishes
(mainly Wallago attu) and major (mainly Rohu) and minor carps dominate the commercial
catches of upper, middle and lower stretches, while the commercial catch in lower-middle
stretch is primarily composed of catfish and miscellaneous catch. The species found in the
Himalayas include Tor spp, Glyptothorax spp, Balitora spp, Noemacheilus
spp,Schizothorax spp, Lepidocephalichthys spp, Gagata spp etc. The major fishes present in
this system include Labeo gonius, Wallago attu, Puntius sarana, Notopterus notopeterus, N.
chitala, Mystus seenghala, Clupisoma gainia and Eutropiichthys vacha. A survey conducted
by CIFRI, Barrackpore indicates that there is significant decline in the fishery in many
stretches of the river. Mahseers, once plentiful in the upstream stretches of rivers, are already
under the threat of extinction.

 Fishing gears used

          Dip net, cast net, gill net, purse net, drag net, trawl net, bag net, long lines etc., are the
fishing gears commonly employed in the Brahmaputra system.

The Indus river system

          Though massive as a whole, it has only a small segment left in the present-day India.
The rivers of the North West Himalayas are Indus, Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, the Beas and
Sutlej. This system harbours exotic rainbow and brown trouts in their upper reaches and a
variety of indigenous carps and catfishes in their lower sections. Trout streams of Kashmir
constitute one of the world’s richest sport fishing waters attracting tourists from all over the
world.

 River Indus

          The Indus originates in the northern slopes of the Kailash range in Tibet. It enters
Indian Territory in Jammu and Kashmir. The fish fauna of the upper reaches of Indus rivers
has not been fully explored because of its inaccessibility. The major fishes in Indus
areSchizopygopsis stoliczkee, L. gontius, Rita buchanani, Sisor rhabdophorm, Exostoma
stolicizkae, Trichogaster sp and Nemacheilusspp.

River Jhelum

The Jhelum originates in the south-eastern part of Kashmir, in a spring at Verinag. It flows
into the Wular Lake, which lies to the north, and then into Baramula. Only a small part of the
river Jhelum flows through Jammu and Kashmir. Its catchment area upto Indo-Pakistan
border is 34,775 km2. The common fishes found in the river Jhelum
include Schizothoraichthys spp, six species of Schizothorax, Diptynchus maculatus,
Cyprinus carpio, Labeo dero, Crosscheilus diplochilus, Salmo trutta fario, Glyptosternum
reticulatum, Botia birdiand  Nemacheilus gracilis  and Nemacheilus kashmirensis.

River Chenab

          The Chenab originates from the confluence of two rivers, the Chandra and the Bhaga,
which themselves originate from either side of the Bara Lacha Pass in Lahul. It is also known
as the Chandrabhaga in Himachal Pradesh. It enters the plains of Punjab near Akhnur and is
later joined by the Jhelum. It is further joined by the Ravi and the Sutlej in Pakistan. Its
catchment area upto Indo-Pakistan border is 26,155 km2. The fishes that are common in the
river Chenab are Dipthychus maculates and Glyptothorax kashmirensis.

River Ravi

The Ravi originates near the Rohtang Pass in the Kangra Himalayas and follows a north-
westerly course. It flows as a part of the Indo-Pakistan border for some distance before
entering Pakistan and joining the Chenab river. The total length of the river, Ravi is about
720 km. Its catchment area is 14,442 km2. The major fishes present in the river
are Amblypharyngodon mola, Barilius bendelisis, Carassius carassius, Catla catla, Cirrhina
mrigala, C. reba, Cyprinus carpio, Labeo  spp, Tor tor, Mastacembelus armatus,
Channa  spp.,Trichogaster fasciatus, Clarias batrachus, Heteropneustes fossilis, Mystus spp.,
Ompok bimaculatus, O. padba, Rita rita  and Wallago attu.

River Beas

The river, Beas originates in Beas Kund, lying near the Rohtang Pass. It runs past Manali and
Kulu, where its beautiful valley is known as the Kulu valley. It joins the Sutlej river near
Harika, after being joined by a few tributaries. The total length of the river is 615 km. Its
catchment area is 20,303 km2. The most common fishes are Xenetodon cansi, Gadusia
chapra, Amblypharyngodon mola, Barbus  spp, Carassius carassius spp, Catla catla,
Chela spp, Cirrhinus mrigala, C. reba, Cyprinus carpio, Labeo spp, Danio devario, Tor tor,
Nemacheilus botia, Oxygaster gora, Puntius  spp, Rasbora daniconius, Mastacembelus
armatus, Channa spp., Trichogaster fasciatus, Clarias batrachus, Heteropneustes fossilis
and  Notopterus  spp.

River Sutlej

The river, Sutlej originates from the Rakas Lake, which is connected to the Manasarovar
Lake by a stream, in Tibet. It flows in a north-westerly direction and enters Himachal Pradesh
at the Shipki Pass, where it is joined by the Spiti river. It cuts deep gorges in the ranges of the
Himalayas, and finally enters the Punjab plain after cutting a gorge in a hill range, the Naina
Devi Dhar, where the Bhakra Dam having a large reservoir of water, called the Gobind Sagar,
has been constructed. It turns west below Rupar and is later joined by the Beas. It enters
Pakistan near Sulemanki, and is later joined by the Chenab. It has a total length of almost
1500 km. A total of 70 species have been recorded from the river Sutlej. The most common
among them include Wallago attu, Clarias batrachus, Heteropneustes fossilis, Mystus spp,
Rita rita, Eutropiichthys vacha, Notopterus notopeterus, N. chitala, Puntius spp, Colisa
fasciatus, Esomus danricusand Chela laubuca.

The East coast river system

It is a composite system of rivers, the main constituents of which are the Mahanadi, the
Godavari, the Krishna and the Cauvery, having a combined length of about 6,437 km. The
total catchment area is 121 million ha. This system drains the entire peninsular India, east of
Western Ghats in the west and southern parts of central India including Chotta Nagpur hill
ranges. These rivers drain into the Bay of Bengal. Mahanadi has all the Indian Major Carps
common with the Ganga system. The other rivers of the East coast system, besides their own
indigenous fish fauna of several carp species harbour Gangetic carp, catfishes, murrels and
prawns. Tributaries of the Cauvery from the Nilgiris have cold water fish like trout and tench.

The river Mahanadi

It is a river of eastern India. The Mahanadi rises in the Satpura Range of central India, and
flows east to the Bay of Bengal. The Mahanadi drains most of the state of Chhattisgarh and
much of Orissa and also Jharkhand and Maharashtra. It has a length of about 860 km. Near
the city of Sambalpur, a large dam, the Hirakud Dam is on the river.

Fish and Fisheries of Mahanadi

The river mainly harbours the hill stream fishes. The most common fishes are Chela untrahi,
Erethistes conta and Arius gagora.

The river Godavari

The river with second longest course within India, Godavari is often referred to as the Vriddh
(Old) Ganga or the Dakshin (South) Ganga. It is about 1440 km long. It originates from
Deolali hills near Nasik and Mumbai in Maharashtra around 380 km distance from the
Arabian Sea, but flows southeast across south-central India through the states of
Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh, and empties into the Bay of Bengal in
the Northern Western Ghats. Its catchment area is 315,980 km2. It is a seasonal river,
widened during the monsoons and dried during the summers. Its main tributaries are Manjira,
Wainganga (secondary tributaries – Penuganga and Wardha) and Indravati. Its minor
tributaries are Purna, Maner, Sabari etc. There is no major dam. However, several small dams
have been built across the tributaries of Godavari and long irrigation canals form a network
of water bodies.

Fish and Fisheries of Godavari

The most common fishes in this river include fishes such as carps (Labeo fimbriatus,
Cirrhinus mrigala, Labeo calbasu, Catla catla ), catfishes (Mystus seenghala, Mystus aor,
Silonia childreni, Wallago attu, Pangasius pangasius, Bagarius bagarius) and Hilsa
ilisha. Of the several carp species, L. fimbriatus is found to dominate and this is followed
by C. mrigala. Macrobrachium malcolmsonii (Godavari prawn) is the prawn common in this
river. Fishing gears that are commonly employed are gillnets (set gillnet, drift gillnet, drag
gillnet, barrier gillnet), seines (shore seine, large seine and drag net) and cast net.

The river Krishna

          The Krishna is one of the longest rivers of India (1120 km in length). Its c atchment
area is 233,229 km2. It originates at Mahabaleswar in Maharashtra, passes through Sangli and
meets the sea in the Bay of Bengal at Hamasaladeevi in Andhra Pradesh. The Krishna river
flows through the states of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Its most important
tributary is the Tungabhadra River, which itself is formed by the Tunga and Bhadra rivers
that originate in the Western Ghats. Other tributaries include the Koyna, Bhima, Mallaprabha,
Ghataprabha, Yerla, Warna, Dindi, Musi and Dudhganga rivers. There are dams (anaicuts) or
weirs and barrages. Several reservoirs have been built on the rivulets, and some major dams
as the Lakkavali, Tungabhadra, Koina and Vanivilas Sagar have been constructed. The
conditions of flow, nature of river bed and other features of the Krishna river system are quite
similar to Godavari system.

Fish and Fisheries of Krishna

The fish species composition is similar to the Godavrai system. The major fishes of the river
include carps (Labeo fimbriatus, Cirrhinus mrigala, Labeo calbasu, Catla catla ), c atfishes
(Mystus seenghala, Mystus aor, Silonia childreni, Wallago attu, Pangasius pangasius,
Bagarius bagarius) and Hilsa ilisha. Fishing gears employed are similar to the Godavrai
system.

The river Cauvery

It is one of the great rivers of India. This river is also called Dakshin Ganga. It originates in
the Brahamagiri hills in the Western Ghats range of Karnataka state, and from Karnataka
through Tamil Nadu, it empties into the Bay of Bengal. The source of the river is Talakaveri
located in the Western Ghats about 5,000 feet (1,500 m) above sea level. It flows generally
south and east for around 765 km, emptying into the Bay of Bengal through two principal
mouths. Its basin is estimated to be 27,700 square miles (71,700 km²), and it has many
tributaries including Shimsha, Hemavati, Arkavathy, Kapila, Honnuhole, Lakshmana Tirtha,
Kabini, Lokapavani, Bhavani, Noyyal and Amaravati. The large Mettur dam has been
constructed across Cauvery in Tamilnadu. In Tamilnadu, in the Thanjavur delta, the river
divides into a northern branch, the Coleroon and a southern branch, the Cauvery proper. The
Lower anaicut is across the river, Coleroon and the Upper anaicut and Grand anaicut are
across Cauvery proper.

Fish and Fisheries of Cauvery

Eighty three species of fishes belonging to 23 families have been reported from the Cauvery
river. The most common fish species are as below:

Carps: Catla catla, Labeo rohita, Cirrhinus mrigala, Cyprinus carpio, Tor putitora, Barbus

carnaticus , B. dubius, Labeo kontius,Cirrhinus cirrhosa, Acrossocheilus
hexagonolepis, Osteochilus hexagonolepis, Osteochilus brevidorsalis etc 

Catfishes: Mystus seengala, M. aor, Wallago attu, Pangasius pangasius, Silonia

silondia, Glyptothorax madraspatanum etc.

Miscellaneous : Notopterus notopterus, Channa marulius, Osphronemus goramy etc

Fishing gears employed

They are similar to the Godavrai system. They include gillnets (set gillnet, drift gillnet, drag
gillnet, barrier gillnet), seines (shore seine, large seine and drag net) and cast net.

 The West coast river system

 The combined length of this system is 3,380 km. Its total catchment area is 69.6 million ha.
It drains the west of Western Ghats. It includes the basins of the Narmada, Tapti and the
drainage of Gujarat. The Narmada and the Tapti are the longest rivers of this system and
have rich fish fauna. The fish fauna of this system mainly consists of carps, catfishes,
mahseers, murrels, perches, prawns etc.

The river Narmada

          The Narmada is a river in central India. It forms the traditional boundary between
North India and South India, and is a total of 1,289 km (801 mi) long. Of the major rivers of
peninsular India, only the Narmada, the Tapti and the Mahi run from east to west. It rises on
the summit of Amarkantak Hill in Bilaspur district of Madhya Pradesh state, and for the first
320 km (200 miles) of its course winds among the Mandla Hills, which form the head of the
Satpura Range; then at Jabalpur, passing through the 'Marble Rocks', it enters the Narmada
Valley between the Vindhya and Satpura ranges, and pursues a direct westerly course to the
Gulf of Cambay. Its total length through the states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and
Gujarat amounts to 1312 km (815 miles), and it empties into the Arabian Sea in the Bharuch
district of Gujarat. Its total catchment area is 94,235 km2 lying in Madhya Pradesh and
Gujarat with 18 tributaries with catchment area ranging from 1,350 to 6,330 km2. Of these, 16
are in Madhya pradesh and two are in Gujarat.

Fish and Fisheries of Narmada

The fisheries of the river Narmada consists of the following species.

Carps: Tor tor, Labeo fimbriatus, L. calbasu, L. bata, Labeo kontius, Cirrhinus mrigala, C.

reba, Catla catla, Puntius sarana etc. 

Catfishes: Mystus seengala, M. aor, M. cavasius, Wallago attu, Rita pavimentata, Ompok

bimaculatus etc

Miscellaneous : Notopterus notopterus, Channa spp.,  Mastacembelus spp, minnows etc

Fishing gears employed

They include cast net, gill net, long lines etc

The river Tapti

The Tapti is a river of central India. It is one of the major rivers of peninsular India with the
length of 724 km. It rises in the eastern Satpura Range of southern Madhya Pradesh state and
flows westward, draining Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and South Gujarat before emptying
into the Gulf of Cambay of the Arabian Sea, in the State of Gujarat. The Western Ghats or
Sahyadri range starts south of the Tapti River near the border of Gujarat and Maharashtra.
The Tapti River basin lies mostly in northern and eastern districts of Maharashtra but also
covers Betul, Burhanpur districts of Madhya Pradesh and Surat district in Gujarat as well.
The principal tributaries of Tapti River are Purna River, Girna River, Panzara River, Waghur
River, Bori River and Aner River.

Fish and Fisheries of Tapti

Fishing season commences from September to October and continues till the onset of
monsoon. Fishing operations are extensive after Jan - Feb. Cheer fishing also takes place
during Nov – Jan with scare line and a composite net made by towing two cast nets. Fishing
gears employed are similar to the Narmada rivers sytem.

The fisheries of the river Narmada consists of the following species.

Carps: Tor tor, Labeo fimbriatus, L. calbasu, L. bata, L. kontius, L. boggut, Cirrhinus

mrigala, Puntius sarana.

Catfishes: Mystus seengala, M. aor

Miscellaneous : Channa spp., Mastacembelus armatus, Clupisoma garua