Much concern has been raised over the decline of delectable Hilsa in the delta of Bay of Bengal, but few have taken note of threats posed to several species of ornamental fish that adorn aquaria across the world and are exported from the Western Ghats and eastern Himalayan region. These ornamental fish are caught from mostly rivers flowing through forest.
As many as 30 threatened species of freshwater fish were exported from the country through unregulated trade between 2005 and 2012, says a recent research by Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER). The scientific paper titled ‘Uncovering an Obscure Trade: Threatened Freshwater Fishes and Aquarium Pet Markets’ was recently published in the International Journal of Biological Conservation.
The study pointed out that nine of the 20 threatened species exported during the period have shown a perpetual decline in their population. Despite such rampant trade, there is no law that requires exporters to declare the species of fish they are exporting.
What is worse is that the quantum of consignment is reported in terms of kilograms, the study notes. It is beyond comprehension how live fish can be described in terms of weight, especially since the total quantum also includes the weight of water. There is no way to find out the number or the types of fish that are being exported.
As per the study, among the species of fish
that are mostly exported are Red lined Torpedo Barbs (RlTBs) and Denison Barbs (Miss Kerala).
These are colorful
subtropical fish endemic to the fast-flowing hill streams and rivers of the state of Kerala and South Karnataka in
South India.
Unrestricted and haphazard collection of the species during the last 20 years has led to a decline in its population,. It has been included in the ‘endangered’ listing in the IUCN Red list of
Threatened Species. Rampant exports: Fish species vanish from Indian seas Dr Neelesh Dahanukar, one of the members of the research paper team said, “of more than 100 species of fresh water fish in trade from the Western Ghats, around 12 are regularly exported. In addition, between 2005 and 2012, the main markets for RlTBs were Singapore (48.63%), Hong Kong (30.52%) and Malaysia (18.4%). A small number was exported to UK, Japan and Germany.”
The paper noted that while aquatic habitats inside forest areas are controlled by the Forest and Wildlife Department, fish and fisheries come under the mandate of the Fisheries Department. “As most of the ornamental fish species are forest-based, monitoring and enforcement can only be successful if multiple custodians work in unison, which has seldom been the case,” suggested the scientists.
The paper also emphasized the need of an organised coding system for freshwater aquarium fish should be strictly put in place, especially for those caught from the wild, This includes information like species name, location of capture, size of the specimens and the names of the collector and exporter.