Limnological study of river Ganga at sindhora ghat with special reference to fish fauna resources

Abstract

The river Ganga is the largest river in India and the fifth longest in the world. Although many studies on fish ecology and systematic research have been conducted largely to improve fisheries, fish diversity and their distribution pattern from conservation point of view have never been adequately addressed in the Ganges. In this connection, current distribution and abundance of freshwater fishes of river Ganges was studied. We documented and described freshwater fish species in all stretches of the river at Sindhora ghat which is higher than what was reported earlier. Some species were observed with shifts in their distribution ranges. Alterations of the hydrological pattern due to various types of hydro projects was seems to be the largest threat to fishes of Ganges. Indiscriminate and illegal fishing, pollution, water abstraction, siltation and invasion of exotic species are also threatening the fish diversity in the Ganges and as many as 29 species are listed under threatened category. The study advocates a need to identify critical fish habitats in the Ganga basin to declare them as conservation reserves to mitigate the loss of fish diversity from this mighty large river.The present study relates to some limnological features in certain physico-chemical factors of river Ganga at Sindhora ghat from August 2023 to July 2024 in relation to percentage frequency of dominant macrophytes