Perception of Fishers on the Impact of anthropogenic Activities on Fish Diversity of Iril River, Manipur.

Abstract

Iril River is a principal tributary of Imphal River and so far, there are few studies on assessment of impact of anthropogenic activities on the river. In this context, a study was undertaken to study perception of local fishers as regards to impact of anthropogenic activities on fish diversity of Iril River. Four sampling sites viz. Dolaithabi, Tiger-camp, Top Khewa Bazar and Lilong were selected across two districts, Imphal-East and Thoubal. Perceptions of respondents (N=60) with respect to impact of anthropogenic activities on fish biodiversity was scored on a Likert scale where they indicated their level of agreement to statements on a 5 point scale. It was found that most anthropogenic activities in river as well catchment area were perceived to have negative impact on fish diversity. Average score of anthropogenic activities was 2.4/5, which is categorised as negative impact. Among the anthropogenic activities fishing methods were perceived as having very high negative impact on fish diversity with a weighted average score of 1.81. Kendall's coefficient of concordance (W) which expresses degree of agreement among respondents was found to be 0.63, suggesting that respondents applied same standards in scoring. It was found that anthropogenic activities have adverse impacts on fish biodiversity.