Inland Fisheries

3.3.2.4 The river Cauvery

It is one of the great rivers of India. This river is also called Dakshin Ganga. It originates in the Brahamagiri hills in the Western Ghats range of Karnataka state, and from Karnataka through Tamil Nadu, it empties into the Bay of Bengal. The source of the river is Talakaveri located in the Western Ghats about 5,000 feet (1,500 m) above sea level. It flows generally south and east for around 765 km, emptying into the Bay of Bengal through two principal mouths. Its basin is estimated to be 27,700 square miles (71,700 km²), and it has many tributaries including Shimsha, Hemavati, Arkavathy, Kapila, Honnuhole, Lakshmana Tirtha, Kabini, Lokapavani, Bhavani, Noyyal and Amaravati. The large Mettur dam has been constructed across Cauvery in Tamilnadu. In Tamilnadu, in the Thanjavur delta, the river divides into a northern branch, the Coleroon and a southern branch, the Cauvery proper. The Lower anaicut is across the river, Coleroon and the Upper anaicut and Grand anaicut are across Cauvery proper.

Fish and Fisheries of Cauvery

Eighty three species of fishes belonging to 23 families have been reported from the Cauvery river. The most common fish species are as below:

Carps: Catla catla, Labeo rohita, Cirrhinus mrigala, Cyprinus carpio, Tor putitora, Barbus carnaticus , B. dubius, Labeo kontius, Cirrhinus cirrhosa, Acrossocheilus hexagonolepis, Osteochilus hexagonolepis, Osteochilus brevidorsalis etc 

Catfishes: Mystus seengala, M. aor, Wallago attu, Pangasius pangasius, Silonia silondia, Glyptothorax madraspatanum etc.

Miscellaneous : Notopterus notopterus, Channa marulius, Osphronemus goramy etc

Fishing gears employed

They are similar to the Godavrai system. They include gillnets (set gillnet, drift gillnet, drag gillnet, barrier gillnet), seines (shore seine, large seine and drag net) and cast net.