Inland Fisheries

3.1.5 Classification of riverine fishes

Based on the migratory habits, fishes occurring in Indian rivers are classified as:

1. Resident species

          The fish species which prefer to remain confined within the local territories are termed resident species. This type includes Cyprinus carpio, Notopterus spp., Channa spp., Mastacembelus spp., Garra spp, Osteobrama spp, Puntius spp, Labeo spp, Cirrhinus spp, Mystus spp, Clupisoma spp etc.

2. Local migrants

          The fish species which perform seasonal migrations within short distances for feeding, breeding etc., are called local migrants. This type comprises of mahseer, Indian major carps, large and medium sized catfishes (like Bagarius bagarius), salmons, trouts etc.

3. Long distant migrants

          The fish species which perform regular annual migrations for feeding or spawning or for both are called long distant migrants. This type consists of Indian shad (Hilsa ilisha) - an anadromous fish, freshwater eel (Anguilla spp.) - a catadromous fish and catfish (Pangasius pangasius , migrate from river to estuary).