Endemic Fish Diversity NBFGR-NATP PUBL. 1 of Western Ghats Edited by A. G. Ponniah A. Gopalakrishnan National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources Lucknow - 226 002, U.P., India Endemic Fish Diversity of Western Ghats Edited by A.G. Ponniah A. Gopalakrishnan 2000 National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources Canal Ring Road, P.O. Dilkusha, Lucknow – 226 002, U.P., India Tel: 0522 2442440, 2442441, 2442443, Fax: 0522-2442403 E-mail: [email protected] Endemic Fish Diversity of Western Ghats Proceedings of the workshop on “Germplasm Inventory, Evaluation and Gene Banking of Freshwater Fishes of Western Ghats” organised by National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources during 12th – 13th October, 1998 at Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Cochin, Kerala. Edited by A. G. Ponniah A. Gopalakrishnan Cover design by A. Gopalakrishnan V. S. Basheer Published by Director, NBFGR, Canal Ring Road, Lucknow – 226 002, U.P.. India. 2000 Price Rs. 350/- Endemic Fish Diversity NBFGR-NATP PUBL. 1 of Western Ghats Edited by A. G. Ponniah Front Cover A. Gopalakrishnan Cascade type habitat - Chalakudy River, Western Ghats, 1 Kerala. (Photo courtesy: Shaji C. P. & Easa P. S. KFRI, Peechi, Thrichur, Kerala) Puntius denisoni (Day) - An ornamental fish endemic to 2 Western Ghats, Kerala. (Photo courtesy: Anna Mercy, T. V., College of Fisheries, Cochin, Kerala) Horabagrus brachysoma Gunther - Cultivatable yellow 3 catfish endemic to Western Ghats, Kerala. (Photo courtesy: National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources Lucknow - 226 002, U.P., India NBFGR, Cochin unit) Back Cover Rapid type habitat - Kabini Rver, Western Ghats, Kerala. (Photo courtesy: Shaji C. P. & Easa P. S. KFRI, Peechi, Thrichur, Kerala) ISBN : 81-901014-2-0 NBFGR-NATP Publ. 1 No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrival system, or trasmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permisiion of the publisher __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Printed at: Army Printing Press, Sadar Cantt, Lucknow - 226 002, U.P., India, Phone +91 522 2481164, 2480546 Foreword The Western Ghats along the West coast of Peninsular India are well known for their richness of biodiversity including freshwater species. The area has vast potential for endemic, cultivable and ornamental fish species. Indeed, it was the spices from the hill chain of Western Ghats that brought Europeans to India, an event of much significance in shaping the course of modern world history. Today, these Western Ghats are recognized as one of the eighteen “biodiversity hotspots” in the world, and are therefore a focus of great scientific interest. Though ideally biodiversity as a whole needs to be conserved, the prohibitive costs associated prevent such a possibility and hence we need to prioritise the groups populations and habitats that need immediate attention. The National Agricultural Technology Project (NATP) has identified “Fish Genetic Biodiversity” as one of the priority areas and the National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources (NBFGR), Lucknow has been selected as the Coordinating institution in the field. The Bureau has short listed endemic cultivable, sport and ornamental species of Western Ghats for immediate research attention. To finalize the priority areas of research on fish germplasm resources, conservation and sustainable utilisation, a workshop on “Germplasm inventory, evaluation and gene banking of freshwater fish species of Western Ghats” was held at Cochin, in Kerala during 12 and 13 October, 1998 which was based on participatory planning process. The recommendations of the workshop served as the base to formulate the NATP Mission Mode project of NBFGR on Western Ghats. It is highly commendable to note captive breeding and milt cryopreservation of two endemic Western Ghats species viz. Horabagrus brachysoma and Labeo dussumieri have already been perfected under NATP by NBFGR along with one of its collaborating centres. The publication entitled “Endemic fish diversity of Western Ghats” which is the outcome of the workshop would certainly serve as a handy reference material on the subject. The efforts of NBFGR in bringing out these proceedings and their activities in Western Ghats are highly appreciated. 3rd May 2001 R. S. Paroda Secretary Department of Agricultural Research & Education & Director General, Indian Council of Agricultural Research Krishi Bhawan, New Delhi I Foreword Conservation and sustainable utilization of natural resources are issues receiving worldwide attention after signing the Convention on Biodiversity. Unbridled exploitation of resources has crossed the sustainable levels and has also led to extinction of a number of species of plants and animals. Human interference has disturbed ecosystem of many water bodies. A few of them remain in pristine condition. In several parts of the world, there is growing awareness among the beneficiaries and user-agencies on the imperative need to conserve, protect and manage various ecosystems. The Western Ghats in India is one of the 18 globally recognized biodiversity “hotspots”. These mountain ranges along the west coast of peninsular India are known for their high levels of endemism as well as rich and highly varied species diversity, including that of freshwater fishes. This area has many potentially cultivable and ornamental fishes. During the last three decades, the main thrust in the country has been to increase fish production with the help of fast growing Indian and exotic major carps. Unfortunately, this has resulted in total negligence of native fauna. But now these species are steadily getting reduced in their own natural habitats. Conservation and sustainable utilization of this natural wealth have been handicapped by inadequate information on these species and their habitats. The National Agricultural Technology Project (NATP), has identified “Fish Genetic Biodiversity as one of the priority areas and the National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources (NBFGR), Lucknow has been selected as the coordinating institution in this field. The Bureau has short-listed endemic cultivable, sport and ornamental species of Western Ghats for immediate research attention. Research activities have already been initiated at NBFGR along with its collaborating centres under NATP for documenting the diversity and biology of these native species as well as develop strategies for their sustainable commercial exploitation. The bringing out of the compendium entitled “Endemic Fish Diversity of Western Ghats” containing all the papers, extended abstracts and recommendations of workshop held at Cochin in October 1998 reflects the enthusiasm among the participants to work up on the conservation of endemic species. The Western Ghat component of NATP mission-mode project was formulated based on the recommendations of the workshop. Besides providing the much needed food and nutritional security, the project activities would be beneficial in widening the food basket of the country as well as boosting the trade and culture of endemic ornamental species of the area. 3rd May 2001 K. Gopakumar Deputy Director General (Fisheries), ICAR, New Delhi – 110 001 III Foreword Biodiversity conservation necessitated knowledge on the diversity of animals and plants, their distribution, biology, abundance and status. Western Ghats with a variety of vegetation types, climatic zones and remarkable endemism is considered to be one of the hotspot areas for biodiversity conservation. The rivers originating from Western Ghats harbour a number of endemic species suitable for aquaculture, sport fisheries and aquarium keeping. Damming the rivers, introduction of exotic species and pollution of major aquatic systems have caused drastic decline of these native fauna in their own natural habitats. Unfortunately lack of information on these species and habitats has been a major handicap in taking timely steps in conservation. In order to address this issue, the National Agricultural Technology Project (NATP) Mission Mode Project on “Germplasm Inventory Evaluation and Gene Banking of Freshwater Fishes” has been initiated with NBFGR as the lead institutions and 12 collaborating centres including 5 centres from Western Ghats. In order to finalise priority areas of research and species for conservation and sustainable utilization, a national workshop on “Germplasm inventory and gene banking of Western Ghats fish fauna” was held at Cochin during 12 – 13 October, 1998. The workshop was based on participatory planning process in which the participants contributed in interactive working groups. The Western Ghats component of NATP Mission Mode project was formulated based on workshop recommendations. The effort of NBFGR in organizing the national workshop on such a topic is a welcome step. I am sure this compilation of papers and extended abstracts entitled “Endemic fish diversity of Western Ghats” would be of much use to all conservationists from Western Ghats. I complement the efforts of Dr. A.G. Ponniah, Director, NBFGR and his team for bringing out the proceedings. 11th April 2001 P. L. Gautam National Director (NATP), ICAR New Delhi – 110 012 V Preface The Western Ghats mountains along the west coast of Indian Peninsula constitute one of the unique biological regions of the world. This mountain range is an extremely important life supporting system having very rich and diverse living resources and forms a distinct ecological and