Inland Fisheries

3.3.3.2 The river Tapti

The Tapti is a river of central India. It is one of the major rivers of peninsular India with the length of 724 km. It rises in the eastern Satpura Range of southern Madhya Pradesh state and flows westward, draining Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and South Gujarat before emptying into the Gulf of Cambay of the Arabian Sea, in the State of Gujarat. The Western Ghats or Sahyadri range starts south of the Tapti River near the border of Gujarat and Maharashtra. The Tapti River basin lies mostly in northern and eastern districts of Maharashtra but also covers Betul, Burhanpur districts of Madhya Pradesh and Surat district in Gujarat as well. The principal tributaries of Tapti River are Purna River, Girna River, Panzara River, Waghur River, Bori River and Aner River.

Fish and Fisheries of Tapti

Fishing season commences from September to October and continues till the onset of monsoon. Fishing operations are extensive after Jan - Feb. Cheer fishing also takes place during Nov – Jan with scare line and a composite net made by towing two cast nets. Fishing gears employed are similar to the Narmada rivers sytem.

The fisheries of the river Narmada consists of the following species.

Carps: Tor tor, Labeo fimbriatus, L. calbasu, L. bata, L. kontius, L. boggut, Cirrhinus mrigala, Puntius sarana.

Catfishes: Mystus seengala, M. aor

Miscellaneous : Channa spp., Mastacembelus armatus, Clupisoma garua