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‡ Floodplain wetlands, locally known as ¦

 

   

   and  in different parts of the country, represent lucrative
location for fisheries in the states of Eastern Uttar Pradesh, Northern
Bihar, West Bengal, valley districts of Assam, Manipur, Tripura and foot
hills of Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya.
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‡ They owe their origin to the often changing course of rivers or their
meanderings. Some of these (more so in the north-eastern region of the
country) originated as a result of seismic activity, caused due to crustal
instability, resulting in depressions in which flood water from upland /
river flowed in.
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‡ Oxbow lakes or channels left by the former course of the rivers.
‡ Shallow depressions caused by seismic activities.
‡ Swamps or wetlands, which are lakes at higher successional level.
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‡ Those retaining continuity with the river/ tributary through some channel
either throughout the year or atleast during rainy season are termed ˜


 
˜

‡ Those which are completely cut off and remain isolated from the river
course throughout the year are known as 
  
˜ ˜

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‡ In floodplain wetlands, macrophytes contribute about 70% of the
primary production because of their large volume as well as surface
exposure.
‡ In any aquatic ecosystem, the biological output or the production of
harvestable organisms can be at various trophic levels.
‡ In general, there are two main routes through which energy flows
from primary to harvestable level in an aquatic ecosystem - the
grazing chain and the detritus chain.
˜ ˜
 ˜

(i) phytoplankton> zooplankton> planktophagous fish> predatory fish

(ii) phytoplankton> zooplankton> fish

 
  ˜

(i) macrophytes> detritus> detritivore fish

(ii) phytoplankton> detritus> benthos> bottom feeding fish
(iii) macrophytes> associated fauna> air breathing fish




    


   

  
  
        
      
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m

 Weed infestation & Siltation
 m
 Potential (1000-2000kg/ha/year) &
production being obtained without management (100-
200kg/ha/year).
„˜˜

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‡ The National Commission on Flood Control in its
recommendations submitted in March, 1980 emphatically
stressed the need to utilize the floodplain wetlands as
fishery resource.
‡ The scientific technologies developed for management of
fisheries in the floodplain wetlands aim at taking maximum
advantage of existing food chains and the fish population.
‡ The scientifically based available management norms for
development of fishery of these wetlands are as under:
± Development of culture based fishery (closed lakes)
± Management of capture fishery exclusively in medium open
lakes
± Fish husbandry based fishery development in large open
lakes (pen and cage culture)


 

  

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‡ It is well known that in such management
practice the growth is dependent on stocking
density, while the survival depends on the
size of the fish seed stocked.
‡ The basic tenets of culture based fishery
management of floodplain wetlands,
therefore, would be:
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˜


  ˜ 


‡ The basic approach of management in such waters
should be to allow the auto-stocking to play its role
by conserving the incoming fish brooders and
subsequently preventing the wanton killing of
juveniles. It is essential, therefore, to follow the
following steps for better success:
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