Professional Documents
Culture Documents
L-6
Major
MajorRiver
RiverSystems
Systemsof ofIndia
India
Topographical
Topographicalfeatures,
features,
Fish
FishFaunastic
FaunasticDiversity
Diversity
&&
Fisheries
Fisheries
Himalayan
HimalayanRS:
RS: Ganga,
Ganga,Brahmaputra
Brahmaputra&&Indus
Indus
&&
Southern
SouthernRS:
RS:PECRS
PECRS&&PWCRS
PWCRS
Indian River Systems
{At a Glance}
River system of country’s comprises of-
14 major rivers (catchments>20,000km2)
44 medium rivers (catchments 2,000 to 20,000km2)
Combined linear length of all rivers= 29,000km
Total surface water runoff= 167.23 mhm
Fish-faunastic diversity comprises of 930
species belonging to 326 genera accordingly India
stands 9th in world for reference
freshwater mega-fish- diversity
The Northern /
Himalayan river
systems (Ganga,
Brahmaputra &
Indus)
The Southern /
Peninsular river
systems (PECRS &
PWCRS)
Topographical features of drainage & basin
The profile of various river system of India
Potential yield of Indian rivers based on their
length & basin area
Ganga
River
System
At Haridwar
River
River
System
System
The Brahmaputra River System
{Topography, Fish Fauna & Fisheries}
Topographical Features-
i. Originates from a great glacier mass near Mansarower lake in Tibet
at MSL 3600m, flowing eastward and thereafter westward passing
through Arunachal Pradesh for 160km enters the valley of Assam
above Sadiya.
ii. Last flowing for 480km in Bangladesh it joins Ganga at Goalando
forming a common river Padma (Width= 9.6km) meets in Bay of
Bengal through a Great Meghana estuary.
iii. Thus it drains the northern slope of central and eastern Himalayas.
iv. Combined linear length of RS= 4023km, Brahmaputra alone=
2900km.
v. Catchment area= 51 million ha and water runoff= 38 mhm.
Note: Topographically Brahmaputra valley is interspersed with abandoned
beds of river which are subjected to annual inundation resulting
development of wetlands considerably in the districts of Lakhimpur,
Nowgong, North Kamrup and Goalpara.
Pattern of Primary Producers &
Consumers Production and Productivity-
Through out its stretch rich in inorganic
contents (Phosphates, Nitrates, Silicates &
Iron).
Zooplanktons dominate in upper reach
(Brachionus, Cyclops, Daphinia & copepods
nauplii).
Phytoplanktons dominate in lower reach
(Spirogyra, Ulothrix & Oscillataria)
In general, phytoplanktons dominate over
zooplanktons
Fish-faunastic Diversity & Fisheries
The Brahmaputra RS harbors 126 fish species belonging to 26
families, out of which 41 species are of commercial
importance.
Over all fish faunastic diversity similar to Ganga RS.
Upper sector of the river is not having commercial fishery of any
significance. This segment harbours coldwater fishes (T. mosal, T.
tor, T. putitora, T. progenius, Neolissochelus hexagonolepis and catfish
B. bagarius…).
The commercial fishery is dominated by catfishes.
Miscellaneous group of fishes also contribute significantly to total
catch.
River
River
System
System
The Indus River System
Topographical Features-
The major portion of Indus river system lies within Pakistan but its 5
tributaries, viz. Jhelum, Chinab, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej originate
from the Western Himalayas.
Fish Fauna & Fisheries-
i. In headwaters of these rivers, commercial fisheries are absent.
ii. The common fish species inhabiting are Salmo trutta faria, Oncorhynchus
mykiss, Tor tor; T. putitora, Schizothorax spp., Labeo dero, Gara gotyla,
Botia spp. and Nemacheilus spp.
iii. The Beas and Sutlej contain indigenous carps and catfishes akin to the
Ganga River.
iv. The Jhelum in Jammu and Kashmir is reported to support commercial
fisheries. The species caught are Schizothorax spp., Labeo dero, L.
dyocheilus, Crossocheilus latius, Puntius conchonius, Cyprinus carpio (C.
carpio communis and C. carpio speclllaris), loaches and Glyptothorax spp.
Note-
Beas and Satluj soecially harbor rainbow & brown trouts in upper reaches.
The trout streams of Kashmir constitute one of the world’s richest sport fishing waters
attracting anglers and tourists from all over the world.
Exotic C. carpio (communis & specularis) contribute significantly to comercial catch.
Landing of snow trouts and Schizothorax sps ranges from 70-80%.
Peninsular East Coast River System
Mahanadi
Godavari
Krishna
Cauvery
PECRS at a Glance
• Combined linear length= 6,437km with a total
catchment area of 121 million ha
• It drains the entire peninsular India including-
East of Western Ghats in the West & Southern
parts of central India
• Mahanadi has its own major carp species
common with Gangetic carps
• Other rivers have carp species but not the
Gangetic carps which have been transplnted
• Tributaries of Cauvery originating from Niligiri
hillsharbour coldwater fish like trout & tench
Mahanadi River System
The upper reaches harbor game fishes but
commercial fishery is non-existent due to
inaccessible terrain.
The ichthyofauna is similar to that of the Ganga
river with addition of peninsular species.
Hilsa is confined to lower reaches and together
with major carps and catfishes forms lucrative
fishery.
Data on fish production and catch per unit effort
(CPUE) is not available.
Serves as important source of natural spawn
collection of hill-stream fish who harbor in it
from its source of origin up to Hirakud reservoir
in Sambhalpur district of Orissa.
Godavari River System
Topographical Features-
Godavari originates in Deolali hills near Nasik in the
Northern Western Ghats having tidal limits below
Rajahmundry in A.P. meeting in Bay Bengal.
Linear length= 1440km and catchment area= 315980Km2.
Having 2-large ‘Weirs’: 1st at Dowlaiswaram for irrigation &
navigation and 2nd at Dummagudem for navigation only.
In general wetlands (Jheels / Bheels/ Ox-bow lakes) do not
exist in rivers of Deccan plateau and under this RS also.
Stretch of 189km between Dowlaiswaram to Dummagudem
fetches commercial fishery being only of its plain zone.
This plain stretch has been divided into 3-zones for fisheries
point of view
I- Dowlaiswaram to Pattiseema (33.6km)
II- Polavaram to Jidiguppa (59.2km)
III- Kunavaram to Dummagudem (96.2km)
Fish Fauna-
Carps: Catla catla, C. Mrigala, L. fimbriatus (+) & L. calbasu
Catfish: M. seenghal, M. aor, Silonia childreni, W. attu, P.
pangasius & B. bagarius
Hilsa ilisha
Miscellaneous: Comprising less than 0.5% individually in
total catch at any time
Prawn: Macrobrachium malcolmsonii
Fisheries-
The headwater harbours a variety of game fishes but do
not support commercial fishery. It has been observed
that during 1990 the river was maintaining a fish
production of 1 tonne/km/annum.
However, the commercial fisheries consist of carps
(major carps and L.fimbriatus), large catfishes (Mystus
spp., Wallago attu, Silonia childreni and B. bagarius)
and freshwater prawn (M. malcolmosonii).
Relative Trend of Gears to be used in 3-Zones:
Basically of 2-types-
I. Gill-Nets {Set, drift, drag (Bendu vala) & barrier
(Katu vala)}: Catch by these gears contributes to
33.9& of fishing efforts in all3-zones and
accordingly constitutes 12.7% of total fish
yield.Use of drag gill-nets are confined to zone-III.
II. Seine-Nets {Shore (Jarugu vala), large (Alivi vala)
& drag (Konte vala):
In zone I & II large sheine-nets are used for the catch of
carps and catfishes.
In zone II & III shore sheine-nets are used for the catch
of miscellaneous group of fishes and also prawns.
Relative catch by using different gears
L. fimbriatus: Most abundant in all 3-zones.
C. mrigala: It is a transplanted species and more
abundant in zone I & II than III.
C. catla: Ctach is of low magnitute in all 3-zones.
M. seenghala: Most abundant among all catfish
and equal catch from all 3-zones.
Hilsa ilisha: Has moderate catch from all 3-zones.
M. malcolmsonii: It is only prawn species present
and has moderate catch from all 3-zones.
Krishna River System
Topographical Features, Fish-Fisheries-
It originates from Western Ghats range in south of Poona
and meeting in Bay of Bengal.
Linear length= 1120km and catchment area= 233229Km2.
Having 2-tributaries-
1. Bhima: Meeting on northern flank in Karnataka, being a seasonal
river
2. Tungbhadra: Meeting on southern flank, being a perennial river
having more water volume and flow than Krishna
Note:
1. Physico-chemical characteristics of Godavari &
Krishna are similar as both have common origin from
major terrain of Deccan Plateau and accordingly they
have common fish faunastic diversity.
2. Several dams have been constructed on this river,
which have altered the ecology of this river.
Cauvery River System
Topographical Features-
It is largest perennial river in south of the Krishna
and originates from Brahmagiri hills on Western
Ghats at MSL 1340m.
Meeting in Bay of Bengal flowing south-
easternally in Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu.
Largest masonry dam is Mettur (T. Nadu).
In Thanjavur delta it has been divided into two
distributaries-
1. Northern branch (Coleroon): Having lower Anicut
2. Southern branch (Cauvery proper): Having upper &
Grand Anicuts
Fish Fauna-
Carps: Acrossocheilus hexagonolepis, T. putitora,T.
khudree & T. mussullh, Barbus carnaticus, Barbus
dubius, L. kontius & L. ariza, Ci. Cirrhosa,
Osteochilus brevedorsalis & O. nashi…
Catfish: M. seenghal, M. aor, S. silonia & S.
childrenii, W. attu, P. pangasius & Glyptothorax
madraspatanum…
Murrel: Channa marulius
Featherback: Notopterus notopterus
Transplanted Species: Gangetic carps and
exotics: C. carpio species & Osphronemus goramy
Fisheries Trend-
The water resource of the river is extensively
exploited as numerous reservoirs, anicuts and
barrages have been built on the river.
The game fishes like Tor khudree and T.
mussullah are found all along length of the river
except the deltaic stretch.
The commercial fisheries comprise carps (Tor
spp., Barbus carnaticus, B. dubius,
Neolissocheilus hexagonolepis, Puntius
pulchellus, Labeo kontius) and catfishes
Glyptothorax madraspatanum, Mystus spp., P.
pangasius, W. attu, S. childreni and Silurus
wynaadensis).
Peninsular WestCoast River System
{Narmada & Tapti}
PWCRS at a Glance
Combined linear length= 3,380km
It drains the Narrow belt of Peninsular India (West of Western Ghats)