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Fisheries resources assessment survey in the River Cauvery

28^th March, 2025
Among the major rivers of India, the River Cauvery holds a unique status in harbouring a high number of endemic fish fauna owing to its remarkable habitat heterogeneity and location of major part of the basin in the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot. Comprehensive surveys on fish catch, diversity, and socio-economics of fishers in the river, were conducted by scientific team of ICAR-CIFRI comprising of Mr. Roshith C. M (Sub-project leader), Dr. Anjana Ekka, Dr. V. L. Ramya, Dr. Sangeetha M. Nair, and Dr. Vijayakumar M. E at 72 fishing villages and 14 major riverine fish landing centres situated in the districts of Kodagu, Mysore, Chamarajanagara, Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri, Salem, Erode, Karur, Tiruchirappalli, Thanjavur, and Nagapattinam. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews of fishers at fishing villages, members of fishermen's cooperative societies, and officials from the State Fisheries Departments, combined with direct observations of riverine fish landings made by the team members.

The survey revealed that carps formed the major catch component in the riverine fish landings along the upper stretch of Cauvery, with Bangana dero (Dero carp) contributing to 33 % of the total catch followed by Indian Major Carps (IMCs) with a percentage contribution of 30 %. The fish catch along the middle stretch was dominated by catfishes, among which Ompok bimaculatus was the main contributing species (46.8 % of total landings). The catch per unit effort (CPUE) at middle stretches ranged from 4.8 – 14.8 Kg/boat/day, with an average of 7.6 Kg/boat/day. In lower Cauvery, the exotic fish species contributed to 53 % of the total fish landings, among which, Oreochromis niloticus contributed 41.35% of the total landings. Though the predominance of exotic fish species in the lower stretch of the river was also noted earlier (2017-2020), the presence of these species at upper, middle and estuarine stretches and forming one of the main catch components of the whole river is alarming and requires immediate attention.