Inland Fisheries

2.1.2 Inland fisheries resources of India

          The inland fishery resources of the country comprises of the rivers and canals,reservoirs, tanks and ponds, estuaries, brackish water lakes, backwaters, floodplain lakes (oxbow lakes) etc. while the marine water bodies are mainly used for capture fisheries resources, the inland water bodies are widely used for culture and capture fisheries. Inland capture fisheries of India has an important place; it contributes to about 30% of the total fish production. The large network of inland water masses provides great potential for economic capture fishery.

          India has a total water surface area of 3,14,400 sq km with water resources in the form of numerous rivers, streams, wetlands, lakes,etc., and receives an average annual rainfall of 1,100 mm. The country as a whole has a river length (including canals) of 1,95,210 km, reservoirs of 29.07 lakh ha, tanks and ponds of 24.14 lakh ha, flood plain lakes and derelict water bodies of 7.98 lakh ha, and brackish water areas of 12.40 lakh ha. A major part of the river stretches and canals are concentrated in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Much of the reservoir areas falls in the states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh,Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. Tanks and ponds are concentrated in the states of Andhra Pradesh,Karnataka, West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Orissa. A large part of the area under flood plain lakes and derelict water bodies is found in Kerala, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh and Assam. Brackish water areas are concentrated in the maritime states of Orissa, Kerala, West Bengal, Gujarat,Goa, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu and in the Union territory of Andman and Nicobar Islands. Total area under water bodies (excluding rivers and canals) is found to be maximum in Orissa, followed by Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, TamilNadu, West Bengal, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, etc. in that order. There are several wetlands being shared with neighbouring countries too as in case of Ladakh and Sunderbans. The major river basins of the country are the Ganges,Brahmaputra, Narmada, Tapti, Godavari, Krishna and Cauvery.