Studies on age profile of Common carp, Cyprinus carpio (Linnaeus, 1758) from the Tons River, India

Abstract

Heavy fishing affects the population by the exploited section of the stock in riverine water bodies. Cyprinus carpio is very frequently cultured in the Ganga basin especially middle and lower stretches of the river due to its plasticity nature (survival rate), fast growth rate, high market demand, consumer preference and very simply availability of seed (example fry and fingerlings). C. carpio is highly adaptable to a suite of environmental conditions. Age composition, age and growth of C. carpio were studied during February 2019 to 2020 January from fish landing centre at Sirsa, Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, India. The hard part, key scales were studied for estimation of age and growth in the present study because of easy availability. A total of 548 specimens in length ranges between 97 to 687 mm and age classes of 0+ to 9+ were estimated in the river. The fish attained mean length of 203, 325, 413, 478, 529, 565, 594, 621 and 643 mm, respectively at the end of 1+ to 9+ years of the life cycle. The maximum growth was observed in first year with 203 mm of the life span. The result also indicated that the age composition and growth rate of C. carpio in the invaded waters of the Tons River is very appropriate to the fishes.