PARENT SESSION
Contributed Oral Session 159: Biodiversity: Management and Theory
Friday, August 12, 8:00 AM - 11:30 AM, Meeting Room 518 C, Level 5, Palais des congrès de Montréal

Biodiversity of fish and prawn in Borobila beel of Rangpur, Bangladesh.

Kumar Saha, Jayanta^*,1, Rezaul Hasan, Mohammad¹, Ahsan Bin Habib, Md.¹, Mohsin Ali, Md.¹, ¹ Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, Bangladesh

ABSTRACT- Inland capture fisheries of Bangladesh are a vital source of animal protein and livelihood for their people. Beel (natural depression), floodplain, haor, and rivers are also extremely susceptible to biodiversity degradation. Considering the importance of biodiversity for sustainable management of natural resources, the present study was conducted to assess the fish and prawn biodiversity in Borobila beel for 20 months from November 2002 to June 2004. Borobila beel is located at Pirganj Upazila under Rangpur district. It is a semi-closed beel connected with other beels and rivers through bamboo screens and sluice gate. One inlet is connected with Akhira River and the inlet has a sluice gate to control the water flow. The main outlet is at the southern part of the beel and is connected to Kuchiamari River. The range of basin depth is 1.83 to 3.35 m. The approximate water area during the rainy season is 300 ha and during the dry season it is 35 ha. Hydrologically, the beel is a sub-basin of Karotoa river system under the Brahmaputra Jamuna Basin. A total of 58 species of fish and prawns belonging to 21 Families and 42 genera were recorded from the beel, out of which 57 were fish species (52 indigenous and 5 exotic species) and remaining one was prawn. A total of 36 species of resident (68%), 14 species of migratory (26%) and three species of riverine (6%) fishes formed the indigenous fish and prawn community. Macrobrachium spp. were the major species in the fishers catch in terms of individual number abundance (%) followed by Parambassis baculis, Puntius sophore, Amblypharyngodon microlepis and Glossogobius giuris while dominants species were Wallago attu, Catla catla, Labeo rohita, Cirrhinus cirrhosus and Channa punctata in terms of weight abundance (%). Findings of the study indicated that small fish and prawn species form major share of capture fisheries in Borobila beel. The outcomes of this study are expected to provide baseline information on biodiversity for eventually sustainable management of beel fisheries.

Key words: Fish, Biodiversity, Beel