A Major Source Of Livelihood For The Country’s Poorest, Small Fish Inhabit Rivers, Floodplains, Ponds In India Stock Photo

A major source of livelihood for the country’s poorest, small fish inhabit rivers, floodplains, ponds, tanks, lakes, beels, streams, lowland areas, wetlands and paddy fields. But their number is declining. “Its species are vanishing from open water ecosystems like ponds and rural marshy areas, putting livelihoods of many fishers at stake,” says Bijay Kumar Behera, senior scientist with the Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute. Of the 765 freshwater fish species in the country, 450 are indigenous small fish, defined as fish that grow up to 25-30 cm in length. According to the recent livestock census, 10 million people are engaged in inland fisheries. A major chunk of them depend on small fish. About 23 per cent of small, indigenous fish species are of economic value as ornamental fish. According to a study by the National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources NBFGR, of the 104 small fish species studied, 62 are important for food security. Traditional fishers in the floodplains of the Ganga and Brahmaputra river basins earn 30 per cent of their daily income from small fish. Besides, small fishes are the richest source of nutrition and are inexpensive. One kilogram of small fish provides minerals and vitamins equivalent to those in 40 kilograms of big fish.