Status, Potential, Prospects, and Issues of Floodplain Wetland Fisheries in India: Synthesis and Review for Sustainable Management

Abstract

India is blessed with vast floodplain wetland resources of 0.5 million ha that are distributed in the Eastern and North Eastern States. They possess varying morphometry, ecological profile, trophic status and biota, and harbor around 96 fish species, however the fish diversity is declining in recent years due to anthropogenic and other stressors including climate change. The wetlands are serving the need for fish from sustenance level to high intensity with varying management regimes. The average fish yield realized from these wetlands was very low as 50?kg ha?1 yr?1 against the annual potential of 2000?kg ha?1 yr?1. The fish yield from these resources has enhanced through adoption of culture based fisheries and the average yield has increased to 400?kg ha?1 yr?1. The increase in fish yield is about 20% of the production potential and there exists wide scope for developing integrated management strategies for optimizing the fish yield. Insufficient access to scientific knowledge and technologies, loss of biodiversity, habitat degradation, poor fisheries infrastructure, weak financial capacity, lack of co-operative approach, poor linkages and unorganized institutional arrangements pose challenges in achieving the potential. The present review synthesizes the updated information available on floodplain wetlands and the changes and developments during the last few decades with reference to ecology, fisheries, biodiversity, production potential, threats, institutional arrangements, governance and recommends strategies for conservation and sustainable fisheries development.