Alien fish species in India: Impact and emerging scenario

Abstract

Over the last decade, the aquaculture entrepreneurs/farmers have been demanding importation of new fish strains and varieties in view of competition in the world market as well as in the domestic market. However environmental, socio-economic and biodiversity issues are important considerations for authorities to check and regulate importation of such alien fishes in India. Therefore, scientific studies on the impact of alien species on biodiversity and socio-economic aspects and their potential invasiveness (capacity to survive, propagate and establish in wild) are imperative. In India, there is paucity of data from the studies on the impact of alien fish species. The available information is scanty and scattered. We have collected this scattered information and based on our field experience we have synthesized and presented these pooled information in this paper to review the impact of illegal and unregulated introductions in India. The historical perspectives and the impact of introduced fish species in India have been discussed. We conclude that introduction of exotic fish species will require planning and research to determine optimal conditions for aquaculture under stringent guidelines.