Inland Fisheries

The West Coast River System

The combined length of this system is 3,380 km. Its total catchment area is 69.6 million ha. It drains the west of Western Ghats. It includes the basins of the Narmada, Tapti and the drainage of Gujarat. The Narmada and the Tapti are the longest rivers of this system and have rich fish fauna. The fish fauna of this system mainly consists of carps, catfishes, mahseers, murrels, perches, prawns etc.

i) The river Narmada

The Narmada is a river in central India. It forms the traditional boundary between North India and South India, and is a total of 1,289 km (801 mi) long. Of the major rivers of peninsular India, only the Narmada, the Tapti and the Mahi run from east to west. It rises on the summit of Amarkantak Hill in Bilaspur district of Madhya Pradesh state, and for the first 320 km (200 miles) of its course winds among the Mandla Hills, which form the head of the Satpura Range; then at Jabalpur, passing through the 'Marble Rocks', it enters the Narmada Valley between the Vindhya and Satpura ranges, and pursues a direct westerly course to the Gulf of Cambay. Its total length through the states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Gujarat amounts to 1312 km (815 miles), and it empties into the Arabian Sea in the Bharuch district of Gujarat. Its total c atchment area is 94,235 km² lying in Madhyapradesh and Gujarat with 18 tributaries with catchment area ranging from 1,350 to 6,330 km². Of these, 16 are in Madhyapradesh and two are in Gujarat.

Fish and Fisheries of Narmada

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

• Carps: Tor tor, Labeo fimbriatus, L. calbasu, L. bata, Labeo kontius, Cirrhinus mrigala, C. reba, Catla catla, Puntius sarana.
• Catfishes: Mystus seengala, M. aor, M. cavasius, Wallago attu, Rita pavimentata, Ompok bimaculatus
• Miscellaneous : Notopterus notopterus, Channa spp., Mastecembelus spp, minnows.

Fishing gears employed

They include cast net, gill net, long lines etc.

ii) 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., Mastecembelus armatus, Clupisoma garua