Abstract
A checklist of the native fishes of the Dhanu River and adjacent waters at Mithamain Upazila under the Kishoreganj district of Bangladesh is prepared with details on their availability, conservation status, habitat preferences, population trends, and threats. Data were collected monthly by field survey, focus group discussions, and personal interviews by using a semi-structured questionnaire and a pictorial check list of fish species. A total of 91 indigenous fish species of 59 genera belonging to 29 families under 11 orders were documented where 17.6%, 27.5%, 31.9%, and 23.1% species were abundantly available, commonly available, moderately available, and rarely available, respectively. Among those, 24 fish species (26.4%) were under the threatened category (3 critically endangered, 11 endangered, and 10 vulnerable) according to the IUCN Bangladesh. Notably, the globally threatened Cirrhinus cirrhosus, Channa orientalis, and Wallago attu were available in the study area. Fish population trends of 24.2% and 59.3% of the entire fish species were found in decreasing trends at the global and national level, respectively. The leading threats to the fish diversity were indiscriminate overfishing followed by fishing by dewatering of wetlands, the katha fishing method, the use of deprecated fishing gears, etc. Minimizing anthropogenic impacts, enacting fishing laws, installing and managing fish sanctuaries, and raising public awareness can be effective for the conservation of existing fisheries resources.
Highlights
Published: 15 September 2021Bangladesh is a realm of wetlands with a diversified area of open water fisheries resources comprising inland and marine fisheries [1]
8 sampling sites represented the existence of 91 indigenous fish species, which were under 59 genera, 29 families, and 11 orders (Table 1)
A more in-depth study is required in the future for more specific information in order to develop better management strategies for the wetlands. This is the first attempt at looking into the fish species diversity of the Dhanu River, and the study focused primarily on documenting the available native fish species of the river and adjacent beels
Summary
Bangladesh is a realm of wetlands with a diversified area of open water fisheries resources comprising inland and marine fisheries [1]. The country ranked third in inland open water capture fisheries production and attained the fifth position in aquaculture production in the whole world [4]. The most consumed fisheries resource, has a wide range of species variation in Bangladesh, and the numbers of fish species in the wetlands differ from each other because of the distinct ecologies of those wetlands [5]. Rahman [5] recorded 265 indigenous freshwater fish species in Bangladesh, which were under 154 genera and 55 families. Only 253 indigenous fish species were assessed by IUCN Bangladesh [6], where 113 species were floodplain inhabitants, 104 were riverine, and 36 were migratory species (travel floodplains and rivers) [6]
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