GUWAHATI, Aug 19 - Assam is yet to declare its own State fish, despite having an immense fish diversity. As an increasing number of fish species are being reported to be endangered and threatened, there needs to be a concerted effort towards innovations in management of the fish biodiversity, experts feel.
Against this backdrop, an innovative approach to fish conservation by declaring a State fish was adopted for the first time in the country at the National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources (NBFGR) in 2006.
This involved integration of the key stakeholders in the fish conservation plan where 16 states of the country has already declared their State fish � golden mahseer for Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir, pengba for Manipur, pabda for Tripura, Burmese kingfish for Mizoram, chocolate mahseer for Nagaland, hilsa for West Bengal, calbasu for Odisha, karimeen for Kerala, Karnatic carp for Karnataka, and shol for Andhra Pradesh.
On several occasions the NBFGR had requested the State government to adopt a State fish, but no initiative has been made in this regard till date by the Government of Assam.
Though the vast and varied aquatic resources support a rich variety of fresh water fishes in the State, declaration of the State fish will definitely help in strengthening research for conservation-based aquaculture of the particular fish and fisheries management.
