Kaptai Lake and fisheries: Gears, species and marketing channel with management practices

Abstract

What is the status of Fisheries at Kaptai Lake - mainly, types of fishing gears used, species composition and marketing channel with Existing management practices; this study was conducted for a period of 24 weeks from January to June, 2015 using personal observation and other participatory methods such as questionnaire interview, Focus Group Discussion (FGD) and cross-check interview. A total of 37 fish species under 6 common groups were identified from the lake. Among them 7 species of carps, 7 species of catfishes, 4 species of snakeheads, 2 species of eel, 11 species of perch and 6 species of barbs & minnows were recorded. Three types of fishermen such as professional fishermen, seasonal fishermen and subsistence fishermen are engaged in fishing in Kaptai Lake during the fishing season using various types of nets such as Jhaki jal, Kechki jal, Current jal, Bhasa jal, Thela jal and wounding gear such as Borshi and Koch. In present study, it was found that the lake fishing was totally closed during the spawning season (May-August). The market chain from farmers to consumers passes through a number of intermediaries such as, local fish traders, agents, wholesalers, BFDC pontoon and retailers. Various recommendations and measures have been suggested to improve the fish biodiversity in the Kaptai Lake.