International Research Journal of Biological Sciences ___________________________________ ISSN 2278-3202Vol. 3(8), 98-104, August (2014) Int. Res. J. Biological Sci. International Science Congress Association 98 Fish Diversity in Selected Stretch of the River Mahanadi in Odisha and the Livelihood of Inhabiting Fisher CommunitySingh Tarun Kumar Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India, New Delhi, INDIAAvailable online at: www.isca.in, www.isca.me Received 4rd June 2014, revised 10th July 2014, accepted 6th August 2014Abstract A study was undertaken during January, 2013 to March, 2014 to observe the fish diversity of the Mahanadi River in four selected areas of the Mahanadi stretch starting from Hirakud Reservoir to Banki of Odisha down stream. Besides, it was in thought to study the fisher community residing in these areas and their involvement in fishing activities for livelihood sustenance as well as their socio-economy. Based on collected data from the study, it is observed that there is an occurrence of 56 species belonging to 35 genera, 19 families and 7 orders. The present socio-economic status of the fishers of these regions reveals that the fisher communities inhabiting in the selected stretch are seasonally associated with fishing in major areas whereas some of them are fully engaged in fishing. Most of the families of these communities are falling in the below poverty line category. There is a need to develop a targeted policy by the Government to improve the socio-economic conditions of these communities keeping in view the sustainable management of the fish diversity of these areas. Keywords: Species diversity, fishers community, Mahanadi river, hirakud Reservoir, satakosia tiger reserve. IntroductionOut of 2, 246 indigenous finfishes described in India, 765 fishes are categorised as freshwater species. Fisheries which also include aquatic resources, is nothing without fishers. Fish diversity and fishers’ community move and live together. If this movement is in sustainable manner, fish diversity flourishes enhancing species richness of the region. This ultimately brings a continuous source of income as well as fish protein to the most vulnerable group of Fisheries Sector viz. fishers. So, where biodiversity of fish is rich, the role of socioeconomics of the fishers for the sustainable growth is the most needed. Studying fish diversity alongwith a comparative approach towards the fisher community is an interesting phenomenon which links the fish diversity with the livelihood of the fisher communities inhabiting these regions2-4. In India, the Mahanadi River is considered as the third largest river in the peninsular region, and shares its drainage basin (8030’- 8650’E and 1920’- 23 35’ N) within the States of Chhattisgarh (75136 km), Odisha (65580 km), Jharkhand (635 km) and Maharashtra (238 km). It starts from the Bastar Hills of Chhattisgarh and passes through different geological locations especially of Eastern Ghats and finally joins the Bay of Bengal in the form of different branches passing along the coastline of Odisha. It is about 860 km long and has an annual runoff of 50×10 m with a peak discharge of 44740 m s-1. The Hirakud Dam which was built on the river in 1957 is a big reservoir for fishes, located at 80 E longitudes and 21 30’N latitude3, 5-7. Review of literature reveals that studies on the fish diversity of the Mahanadi River have been undertaken by different researchers. Day is credited to report 146 species mostly collected from Cuttack region of the Mahanadi. According to Tamboli and Jha, the Scientists who had reported different fish species in the Mahanadi River are Hora 43 species; Chouhan 54 fish species from the Tel River, a tributary of river Mahanadi, Jayaram and Majumdar 42 fish species, Desai and Shrivastava 48 fish species from the Mahanadi River and Om Prakash et. al.65 fish species. Besides, Tamboli and Jha reported 58 fish species in the Mahanadi River in Janjgir-Champa district of Chhattisgarh3, 5-12. The present study was carried out at four selected places along the upper and upper-middle stretch of the Mahanadi River basin in Odisha in anticipation of good amount of information on diversity pattern. These areas include Hirakud Region (8030’- 8650’E and 1920’- 23 35’ N) of Sambalpur district, Satakosia (8448’- 8500’E and 2034’- 20 48’ N) Angul district, Kantilo (8513’E and 2022’ N) Nayagarh district and Banki (8525’E and 2021’ N) of Cuttack district13. The present study was undertaken to look into the fish diversity of the Mahanadi River and classify the reported of fishes into food fish, ornamental fishes and both food and ornamental fishes. In addition, the objective of the present study was to correlate finding with the socioeconomics of the fisher community inhabiting around the selected stretches of the Mahanadi River. The study also aims at identifying challenges to the fish diversity and suggesting the conservation measures for the same2-4. International Research Journal of Biological Sciences ________________________________________________ ISSN 2278-3202 Vol. 3(8), 98-104, August (2014) Int. Res. J. Biological Sci. International Science Congress Association 99 Material and Methods Sampling was carried out by collecting fish species from different fishing grounds, landing centres and fish markets in selected regions with the help of local fishers and the State Government staff. For taxonomic study, fish samples were preserved in 5% formaldehyde solution. The taxonomic identification was done by referring Day, Talwar-Jhingran14and Jayaram . The scientific names of the identified fishes were also checked by referring the website of fishbase15. Identifications were further confirmed with the help of Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata. The status of the available ornamental fishes were determined according to the Threatened freshwater fishes of India, National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources, 2010 and IUCN Red list of Threatened Species, 2012.2 version17. The samples recorded and the data collected in this regard were as per the format developed by the author for the study6,8, 14-18. The diversity index for the surveyed and collected samples was determined by using Shannon and Wiener formula, which is as follows: S H= - Pi ln(P i =1 Evenness of the diversity index was calculated by using the formula: E= H/H max Where: H= Shannon-Wiener index of diversity, S= total number of species, H max= ln (S), P= (N/N) proportion of total sample represented by species i, N= total number of individual of all species, N= total number of specimens of each species19-23. The similarity of the species in all sampling station was calculated by following Jacquard’s index: Sj = j/(x+y-j) Where: Sj is the similarity between any two zones X and Y, is the number of species common to both the zones X and Y, is the total number of species in zone X and is the total number of species in zone Y19-23. To analyse important hydrological parameters, water samples were collected from fishing ground with the help of the local fishers and staff of Directorate of Fisheries, Government of Odisha. Water temperature, dissolved oxygen and pH were measured in situ with the help of digital sensors, while free CO, total alkalinity, hardness, inorganic nutrients, viz., ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and phosphate were measured using standard methods by following APHA (1998)24-25. Information on the habitat and data on economic aspect of fishes were also collected from fishermen and local fish retailers. To study socioeconomics of the fishers’ communities, personal interactions and interviews were conducted with the fisher families in the different selected regions as well as the fish retailers in the market of these regions. The information especially on the fishing gear used by them, mechanism of operation and types of fish caught, marketing of the fish catch and income earned there from, etc. were recorded2,26. Results and Discussion The samples of fish species were identified and arranged according to their taxonomic order, family, genus and species. The economic importance and their conservation status were taken into consideration while doing so. The study recorded 56 species belonging to 35 genera, 19 families and 7 orders (table-1). The study shows that Cyprinidae is the most abundant family contributing 37.5% of the total species of all the families found in this region (figure-1) while among the orders, Perciformes topped the list (figure-2). The calculated diversity indices of the four areas selected along the stretch of Mahanadi River on the basis of the Shannon–Weiner diversity index reveal that they ranged between 1.51 ( at Satakosia) and 3.23 (at Hirakud). The result indicates that the species richness is high at Hirakud while it is low at Satakosia The evenness varies between 0.65 (Satakosia) and 0.91 (Hirakud). This indicates that Satakosia tiger reserve has less diverse fish species whereas Hirakud reservoir is highly diverse in this regard. The similarity index states that the highest similarity is between Hirakud and Kantilo (0.535) followed by the index between Hirakud and Banki (0.517), and Kantilo and Banki (0.475). The lowest similarity index is between Hirakud and Satakosia (0.178). The data analysis for the similarity index in respect of Satakosia with other three selected sites demonstrates lower indices viz: Hirakud and Satakosia (0.178), Satakosia and Kantilo (0.212) and Satakosia and Banki (0.3). This may be attributed to the limited access to this area for fishing due to restriction being a reserve forest area. Although due to reserve forest, the Satakosia stretch is presumed to have rich fish species diversity, the findings of the present study do not confirm this. In order to understand the exact fish species diversity of Satakosia, the further study would require elaborative and intensive fishing methods. Out of the reported 56 fish species, 20 species are considered as only ornamental fishes, 30 species as only food fishes and 6 species as both ornamental and food fishes (figure 3). It is observed that fish species like Amblypharyngodon mola (Ham.),Catla catla (Ham.), Cirrhinus mrigala (Ham.), Labeo rohita(Ham.), Osteobrama cotio (Ham.), Puntius sophore (Ham.) and Wallago attu (Bl. & Schn.) are found almost in all the four sites of the selected stretches. The values of water quality parameters of the selected stretches indicative of fish productive habitat between low to medium range (table-2)4,6-7,15,18,27-30. Socio-economics of the fisher community: The socioeconomics of fishers of Hirakud region was studied by collecting data from a sample of 100 families with population of 647 persons. There are 246 fisher families in Satakosia with population of 1154 persons, 70 fisher families in Kantilo with International Research Journal of Biological Sciences ________________________________________________ Vol. 3(8), 98-104, August (2014) International Science Congress Association population of 380 persons and 23 families in Banki with 154 persons. It is observed that the sex ratio of the fisher population of the four selected stretches varies from 656 (Banki) to 830 (H irakud) females per 1000 males. In the social structure of local fishers, it was found that most of them belong to Kewat caste under different sub- caste viz: Behera, Mirdha who follow Hindu religion. It is also observed that the fisher population is educat ionally backward. The percentage of literacy varies from 54% to 58% in the population of selected stretches. Women are the most illiterate among these populations. While the younger population of the fisher community is among the highest literate in the co mmunity, the aged fisher population are mostly illiterate. The average income of a fisher family of the selected stretches varies between Rs.1000 and Rs.3200 per month, which Distribution of fish species within different families Distribution of fish 10152025 Ambassidae Anabantidae Centropomidae Channidae 02468 International Research Journal of Biological Sciences ________________________________________________ International Science Congress Association population of 380 persons and 23 families in Banki with 154 persons. It is observed that the sex ratio of the fisher population of the four selected stretches varies from 656 (Banki) to 830 irakud) females per 1000 males. In the social structure of local fishers, it was found that most of them belong to Kewat caste viz: Behera, Mirdha who follow Hindu religion. It is also observed that the fisher population is ionally backward. The percentage of literacy varies from 54% to 58% in the population of selected stretches. Women are the most illiterate among these populations. While the younger population of the fisher community is among the highest literate mmunity, the aged fisher population are mostly illiterate. The average income of a fisher family of the selected stretches varies between Rs.1000 and Rs.3200 per month, which seems quite low. Besides fishery, the fishers adopt agriculture and other relate d activities as alternative sustenance livelihood because fishing fetches income only in fishing seasons. The age group of 16– 35 years of fishers are more in number with more active role in fishing activities. As regards the fishers in the age group of 46 – 60 years they are not directly engaged in fishing but most of them are involved in ancillary activities including making and repairing of craft and gear was also observed that Fishermen’s Cooperative Societies are found only i n Hirakud Reservoir stretch whereas village committees or groups are undertaking welfare measures for fishers in the other three stretches 2,26 Figure-1 Distribution of fish species within different families Figure-2 Distribution of fish families within different orders Channidae Cichlidae Gobiidae Nandidae Belonidae Clupeidae Cobitidae Cyprinidae Bagridae Siluridae Saccobranchidae Claridae Schilbeidae Notopteridae Mastacembelidae Synbranchidae International Research Journal of Biological Sciences ________________________________________________ ISSN 2278-3202 Int. Res. J. Biological Sci. 100 seems quite low. Besides fishery, the fishers adopt agriculture d activities as alternative sustenance livelihood because fishing fetches income only in fishing seasons. The age 35 years of fishers are more in number with more active role in fishing activities. As regards the fishers in the age 60 years they are not directly engaged in fishing but most of them are involved in ancillary activities including making and repairing of craft and gear 2-3,26. During the study, it was also observed that Fishermen’s Cooperative Societies are n Hirakud Reservoir stretch whereas village committees or groups are undertaking welfare measures for 2,26 . Synbranchidae International Research Journal of Biological Sciences ________________________________________________ ISSN 2278-3202 Vol. 3(8), 98-104, August (2014) Int. Res. J. Biological Sci. International Science Congress Association 101 Figure-3 Percentage of Ornamental fish species to the total fish varieties Table-1 Different fish species found at the four selected areas Name of the Order Name of the Family Sl. No. Name of the species Hirakud Region Satakosia Kantilo Banki IUCN Status 1. Perciformes 1. Ambassidae 1 Parambassis lala(Ham.) + - + - LRnt 2. Anabantidae 2 Anabas testudineus(Bloch) + - + - VU 3 Colisa fasciatus(Bloch& Schn.) + - + + LRnt 3. Centropomidae 4 Chanda nama (Ham.) + + + + LRlc 5 Chanda ranga (Ham.) + - + - LRlc 4. Channidae 6 Channa gachua(Ham.) + - - + VU 7 Channa marulius(Ham.) + - + + LRnt 8 Channa punctatus(Bloch) + - + - LRnt 9 Channa striatus(Bloch) + - + + LRlc 5. Cichlidae 10 Oreochromis mossambicus (Peters) + - - + Intrd. 11 Oreochromis niloticus (Linn.)+ - - - Intrd. 6. Gobiidae 12 Glossogobius giuris(Ham.) + - + + LRlc 7. Nandidae 13 Nandus nandus(Ham.) + - - + LRnt 2.Beloniformes 8. Belonidae 14 Xenentodon cancila(Ham.) + - + - LRlc 3.Clupeiformes 9.Clupeidae 15 Gudusia chapra(Ham.) + - - - LRlc 4. Cypriniformes 10.Cobitidae 16 Lepidocephalichthys guntea (Ham.) + - + + LRlc 11. Cyprinidae 17 Amblypharyngodon mola (Ham.) + - + + LRlc 18 Catla catla (Ham.) + + + + VU 19 Cirrhinus mrigala(Ham.) + + + - LRlc Ornamental Food Fish Ornamental and Food Fish International Research Journal of Biological Sciences ________________________________________________ ISSN 2278-3202 Vol. 3(8), 98-104, August (2014) Int. Res. J. Biological Sci. International Science Congress Association 102 20 Cirrhinus reba (Ham.) + - - - VU 21 Ctenophryngodon idella (Val.) + - - - Intrd 22 Cyprinus carpio(Linn.) + - - + Intrd. 23 Danio devario (Ham-Buch.) + - - - LRlc 24 Danio (Brachydenio) rerio (Ham.) + - - - LRlc 25 Hypophthalmichthys molitrix (Val.) + - - - Intrd. 26 Labeo bata (Ham.) + - - - LRlc 27 Labeo calbasu(Ham.) + - - + NT 28 Labeo fimbriatus(Bloch) + - - + LRlc 29 Labeo gonius (Ham.) + - - - LRlc 30 Labeo rohita (Ham.) + + + + LRlc 31 Osteobrama cotio(Ham.) + - + + VU 32 Osteobrama vigorsii(Sykes)+ - + - VU 33 Puntius sarana(Ham- Buch.) + + + + VU 34 Puntius sophore(Ham.) + + + + LRlc 35 Puntius ticto (Ham.) + + - - LRlc 36 Rasbora daniconius(Ham.) + - - - LRnt 37 Salmostoma bacaila(Ham.)+ + + + LRlc 5. Siluriformes 12. Bagridae 38 Mystus (Aorichthys) aor (Ham.) + + + + DD 39 Mystus (Aorichthys) seenghala (Sykes) + - + + LRlc 40 Mystus tengara(Ham.)+ - + + LRlc 41 Mystus vitatus(Bloch) + - - - LRlc 13. Siluridae 42 Ompok bimaculatus(Bloch) + - + - VU 43 Ompok pabda (Ham.) + - + + VU 44 Ompok pabo (Ham.) + - - - LRnt 45 Wallago attu (Bl. & Schn.) + + + + LRnt 14. Saccobranchidae 46 Heteropneustes fossilis (Bloch) + - - + VU 15. Claridae 47 Clarias batrachus(Linn.) + - - + VU 16.Schilbeidae 48 Ailia coila (Ham.) + - + - NT 49 Clupisoma garua(Ham.) + - - - VU 50 Eutropiichthys vacha + - - - LRlc International Research Journal of Biological Sciences ________________________________________________ ISSN 2278-3202 Vol. 3(8), 98-104, August (2014) Int. Res. J. Biological Sci. International Science Congress Association 103 (Ham.) 6. Osteoglossiformes 17. Notopteridae 51 Chitala chitala(Ham.) + - - - LRnt 52 Notopterus notopterus (Pallas) + - + - LRnt 7. Synbranchiformes 18.Mastacembelidae 53 Macrognathus aral (Bloch & Schn.) + - - + LRlc 54 Mastacembelus armatus (Lacepede) + - + + LRlc 55 Mastacembelus puncalus (Ham.) + - - + LRlc 19. Synbranchidae 56 Monopterus cuchia (Ham.) + - - + VU Note: Low Risk near threatened (LRnt), Vulnerable (VU),Low Risk least concern (LRlc),Introduced (Intd.), Near Threatened (NT), DD-Data Deficient. Table-2 Water Quality Parameters of the Study Areas Sl.No. Water Parameters Hirakud Region Satakosia Kantilo Banki Min Max Min Max Min Max Min Max 1. Temperature 0 C 19 39.6 16.2 38.6 19.1 38.2 18.6 38.6 2. pH 7.8 8.2 7.5 8.4 7.9 8.4 7.6 8.1 3. Dissolved Oxygen (mg/l) 6.2 9.2 6.0 8.1 6.4 8.6 6.1 8.0 4. Total Alkanity (ppm) 39.6 82.2 42.0 81.4 41.2 80.6 40.2 79.6 5. Total Hardness (ppm) 41.2 72.3 40.2 81.3 39.9 79.2 42.1 81.1 6. Carbon Dioxide (ppm) 4.2 5.6 3.8 4.4 3.5 4.3 3.3 4.7 7. Nitrate -N( mg/l ) 0.05 2.05 0.03 1.80 0.03 1.05 0.04 1.55 8. Nitrite-N (mg/l) 0.001 0.42 0.001 0.31 0.002 0.30 0.001 0.36 9. Phosphate (mg/l) 0.025 0.04 0.022 0.032 0.021 0.03 0.021 0.028 ConclusionThe larger rivers of India although render livelihood and nutritional security to the poor fishers through their rich biodiversity, the biodiversity management especially the fish diversity of these rivers is inadequately studied. It is a difficult task to understand the pattern of impact of the fish diversity and the aquatic ecosystem on the livelihood of poor fishers due to non-availability of baseline information. However, the awareness is increasing as to how the aquatic biodiversity is supporting livelihood and sustainable development. There is an urgent need to focus attention for conservation and management of threatened fish species present in these rivers for saving from further endangerment. Therefore, the documentation and characterization of biodiversity is a vital step to assure sustainable development and conservation3-4,29. A recent review of literature on fish diversity of the Mahanadi River indicates that the Mahanadi River is also one of the diverse rivers for a wide variety of indigenous fish species. The findings of the present study show that the selected stretches have rich fish diversity and also support the earlier studies. A significant number of these fishes are considered ornamental species. Hence, potential ornamental fishes among them may be used for aquarium purpose by systematic collection in sustainable manner from the wild2-3,30. Inland fishers are more vulnerable in comparison to their counterparts in marine fishing aquaculture sector. As fishers are the primary stakeholder group in the fishery sector, the growth of this sector shall not be achieved without inclusive growth and improvement of their socio-economic condition. Lower living standard, limited access to income source, shortage of basic amenities and most importantly the lack of education are the huddles that exist in the sector. Although it is a good sign that the fishers are trying to provide education to their children, there is a greater need to enhance the socio-economic conditions of the fishermen in order to augment productivity through thoughtful policies and targeted implementation. The fishers may however be encouraged to form Self Help Groups to bring them together for effective fishing and management. Besides, meaningful awareness is required to make the uneducated and poor fishers understand the biodiversity, the major threats and the right approach towards sustainable development for improving socioeconomic condition2-3,12,26. 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