Assessment of Fisheries and Management- Insights from Dal Lake, Kashmir

Abstract

The present study was done during 2019-20 to assess the current fisheries status of Dal lake in terms of species diversity, trophic status, trends and patterns in fish catch, the lake’s physicochemical properties and its management. Shannon-Wiener index used to calculate the species diversity was 2.08 with the species evenness value of 2.19. The water quality analysis revealed that the lake is highly polluted due to various anthropogenic activities like sewage influx, vegetable cultivation, tourism activities, etc. The lake is dominated by omnivorous fishes followed by herbivores and carnivores. The compound annual growth rate results from 1989 to 2019 for capture fisheries showed the positive growth rate of 0.23. A lack of coordination between the different governing bodies has led the Dal lake to its brim of death. It is recommended to restore by controlling the sewage influx and weed growth. Additionally, the existing pattern of governance and management needs to be modified.

Impact of Scientific Agricultural Technologies on Livelihood Security of Tribal Farmers in Assam

“…The findings of the study are in line with works reported by Kamaruddin and Samsudin (2014), Datta et al (2017), Barela et al (2018), Girish et al (2020), Mishra and Debata (2021), Mir et al (2023), Manikanta and Satpathy (2023) and Gautam and Jha (2023), Patel et al, 2023, Sangpuii andMalhotra (2016). These studies opined that Livelihoods Indices are useful tool in assessing the livelihood elements of the rural poor households with special reference to tribal farmers.…”

Livelihood Assessment of Fishers in Dal Lake, Kashmir

“…The J&K State Department of Fisheries (DoF), J&K State Department of Tourism (DoT), J&K Lake Conservation and Management Authority (JKLCMA), fishers, and people living on the lake periphery are involved to manage various facets of the lake. The primary issues with the fisheries components of the lake are the lack of cooperation between DoF and other departments and the lower priority given to fisheries activities because of their minimal financial contribution to the state (Mir et al, 2022).The creation of alternative livelihoods to decongest the lake should focus on the abilities of the fishers, such as cage culture, ornamental fish culture/rearing, aquarium manufacturing, and aqua-based ecotourism, and the fishers should be given suitable marketing facilities. Also, strict enforcement of laws preventing the flow of civic discharge into the lake by improving the already established STPs and developing new ones.…”

“…Over the last two decades, the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach (SLA) globally played an essential role in framing and informing the debate on sustainable livelihoods and in analysing what enables and inhibits resilient and sustainable small-scale fisheries (Allison & Ellis, 2001;Andrew et al, 2007;Serrat, 2017). The fisher folk of Kashmir valley is the marginalized section of the society, which are prone to various shocks and seasonality trend cause of their poor socio-economic conditions (Mir et al, 2022), more sensitivity, and less adaptive capacity. For instance, the fisherfolk in the Kashmir valley were severely impacted by the massive fish stock mortality that resulted from the flood in 2014, which had disastrous effects on fish variety.…”

Atractosteus spatula, a first-record exotic alligator gar from Dal Lake in Kashmir, India, poses a potential threat to local fish species

“…And is often referred as the "Jewel in the crown of Kashmir" or "liquid heart" due to its fame as a popular tourist attraction (Masoodi and Kundangar, 2018). The lake is a vital source of income for local inhabitants involved in tourism, fishing, and agriculture (Mir et al, 2022). However, in the past four decades, there has been a drastic change in the water quality of the lake (Kumar et al, 2022) due to many anthropogenic activities like the continuous influx of untreated sewage, agricultural and surface runoff (Khan and Ansari, 2005;Zargar et al, 2012;(Rashid et al, 2017;Mushtaq et al, 2018;Kumar et al, 2022) is posing a threat to the aquatic ecology of the lake Ganaie and Hashia (2020).…”