भारत के उत्तर प्रदेश में संसाधनों के दोहन के लिए उपयोग किए जाने वाले प्रमुख मछली पकड़ने के उपकरण

The Uttar Pradesh, is most popular state, endowed with an abundance of aquatic biodiversity exhibiting vibrant freshwater fish variation and important genetic diversity. According to Lakra (2010), UP contributes approximately 14.68% of India's fish biodiversity and provides enormous potential for inland fisheries improvement and aquaculture.

Rivers, rivulets, reservoirs, irrigation canals, ponds, and floodplain wetlands contribute the majority of the world's major fisheries resources (Department of Fisheries, UP, 2013). The diverse fisheries and aquaculture resources available are presently underutilized and they offer a great potential to improve rural livelihoods and the food and nutritional security of UP.

Indian fish farming likely originated approximately 1900 AD with the collection of fish seed from rivers and its subsequent stocking in the shallow impoundments built at the mouth of tidal inlets. Later, fishing methods using hooks, harpoons, spears, and native nets and traps were developed.

The topography of the water body, the type of fish stock, the behavior of the fish, and the properties of the raw materials from which the gears are made all have an impact on the selection of fishing method and the use of gear.

Modern fishing techniques, such as using synthetic gears, plywood and fiber-glass motorboats, dynamite, and fishing vessels, as well as using long-lasting chemicals to catch fish, have a negative impact on aquatic life, including fish, and the traditional fishing techniques still used by the local fish farmers in the Faizabad district of eastern Uttar Pradesh.

Various types of fishing gears

Several different types of fishing equipment, including Gill nets, Cast nets, Drag nets, Mahajal, traps and Angling traps, hook and lines, and Mahajal, were seen in Uttar Pradesh throughout the year, with the peak seasons being the summer and winter sessions employed during study being as follows:

Fishing without gear

Groping:

Fish hiding in cracks and among rocks, as well as those that inhabit shallow waters and burrow into mud, are all searched for and manually caught. Fish that live amid rocks are widely dispersed and, in an attempt to flee, strike the human barrier.

Hand picking:

Fishes are easily captured with the hands in the shallow water bodies. By manually draining the pond, the water level is lowered. The water is then stirred up, turning murky and turbid. Fish start moving towards surface and are easily captured by hand.

Stranding:

Practices of fish collection is most common in shallow water bodies. By building small barricades or earthen bunds, certain water ponds can be separated from the main body of water. The area is partially dried once the water is emptied out, and any fish that become caught are manually collected.

Fishing with gears

1. Gill net:

This is the very common type of fishing method used in India. Gill net is the passive gears are usually operated at the surface of rivers, reservoirs, lakes utilized to entangling varieties of fishes. Gill nets can catch fish in three different ways:

Wedged: caught by the mesh around body

Gilled: caught by the mesh stucked behind the operculum

Tangled: caught by teeth, spines, maxillaries and scales

Gill net is the major fishing gear used by the fisherman. The mesh size of gill net depends on targeted fishes. This net operated vertically against the stream with the help of two poles inside water column. The fish are trapped in the net by their gills because the majority of the net is comprised of translucent nylon, silk, or cotton fiber, which reduces the visibility of the fish.

Gill net weaving is a skilled activity that is carried out by fishermen themselves. In Allahabad's "Gochail Jal," when fish are gilled, the floats in that region sink, notifying the fisherman to the situation so they may remove the fish at once. Local name of gill net in Uttar Pradesh are Anguliajal, Hali, Phana, Sarla, Fasla, Hanta, Gochail Jal.

2. Cast net:

The cast net is also known as ‘Ghaghara’ jal. It is conical in shape with a strong rope which is attached to the apex; forming a circle (180⁰) spread like skirt (bell or umbrella) shaped. It is operated by single fisherman. Along the circumference of the circle, there are several lead or iron cylindrical sinkers secured in place.

It can be operated shallow even shore line by using a craft. This type of net used on pelagic fishes that having shoaling behavior. Mainly small fishes like Mystus, Puntius and other small catfishes varieties are usually caught in all seasons.

3. Traps/Pots:

Inland traps and pots are very common and popular throughout the entire country. Traps are passive type of gear. Traps can also be categorized as traditional and modern traps. Plunge baskets, box traps, filter traps, aerial traps screen barriers made of bamboo and net barriers, among other traditional trapping methods, are some examples.

Typically, aerial traps are placed up over the water. Some fish will jump out of the water when they are in danger, aroused, or under physical stress. The fish may be caught when they fall back using any suitable horizontal nets, rafts, boats, or crates.

Some local name of traps which is made up of flexible arhar stem and bamboo slits i.e. Parha, Gadia and khanchi. Khanchi is mainly practicing to caught singhi (Heteropneustes fossilis) and mangur (Clarius batrachus). Fish pots are a common tool for catching fish in perennial ponds. At the bottom of the body of water are stored pots with the small perforations across them (Prashad et. al., 2013).

4. Lantern net

In the "Kuriyar" of Allahabad, webbing has replaced the wicker work of the "Japar". Bamboo poles extending from the peak hold the webbing in position. The webbing is attached to the free ends of the bamboo poles at the bottom border in the shape of a cone.

5. Drag net:

It is consists of a pocket, wings, ropes, sinkers and floats. The nets are generally made up of cotton or nylon with cotton ropes. Various types of the fishes to be captured, mesh size may be very for species to species and depending on the area of fishing.

6. Ghanti Jal:

This is the similar to drag net used in shallow water along the shore line. This gear consists of single piece of webbing nylon twine. In cast net loops are formed at the extended side of the bottom and the upper half of the net narrow whereas the lower part of the net is wider.

The length of net is about 100m and inserted into the rope at 1m interval of distance for the tickling. The boats are operated with taking distance of 100-200 m. both side of the net, ropes are taken by each of the canoe. Caught many species like Rohiteecotio, Rita chrysea, Mystesaor, Mystesseenghala, Mystus Tingra, Pangasius pangasius etc.

7. Singhrijal:

The net is made of a rectangular piece of webbing with very small meshes with dimension 1.8 x 0.9 meters. The webbing's edges are attached to nylon twine, and it is attached to bamboo poles in a crisscross pattern at each of its four intersections. This net is dragged along the shore in shallow waters for catch small prawns and fishes.

8. Beach seines:

In various areas, the fishes captured, significant variations are recorded in the general size and mesh size of the net used. The larger net having mainly three parts i.e. two wings and middle portion or bag."Mahajal" and its various modifications represent the common beach seine in vogue. Both the "Kariajal" and the "Derwari" of Allahabad are variations of the Mahajal with large and small meshes, respectively.

In most situations, the wings are equal, but in Derwari, the shore wing is shorter. "Kariajal" and "Derwari" of Allahabad are respectively big meshed and small meshed edition of Mahajal. The wings in usual cases are equal in Derwari the wings, the shore wing being shorter.

9. Hooks and lines:

The line and hooks called ‘Bansi’ in locally is one of the oldest methods of fishing techniques. This is the common practiced in river, reservoirs and lakes for predatory fishes. This kind of fishing contains a flexible bamboo rod tied with the cotton or nylon twine attached to metallic sharp hooks with natural or artificial bait to attract fish get hooked and lifted.

Large predatory carnivorous fishes such as Clarius sp., Mystus sp., Channa sp., Wallago sp., using baits like small frogs and small fishes like puntius sp. The most widely used of hooks and lines in running and stagnant water bodies. 11-20 hooks are most common gear with branched line used baits viz., earthworms, algae, prawns etc.

10. Cloth net/ Mosquito net:

Mostly small fishes and prawns caught using fine mosquito net in shallow areas. It is operated in the shallow areas of rivers, lakes and jheels. Persons holding the cloths go forward, keeping the lower portion near the pool's bottom, and then they lift the fabric to observe the fish that have been captured.

11. Drop line:

It consist main line and number of hooked branches attached with the main line float on the surface and remain bunch of hooks float bottom. This kind of gear is particularly efficient at catching fin fishes in the winter. When fishing, two people hold the net at either side and sieve it once there are enough prawns and fish to sieve.

This is a common technique employed in many regions of the state, primarily to catch fish for domestic consumption in abandoned or small water pools. The fishermen themselves consume the majority of their catches.

Destructive fishing:  

In the destructive fishing using of dynamite, pesticides and other chemicals to harvest more fishes in less time with minimum efforts. Destructive techniques refers to killed huge non -target aquatic organisms i.e. juveniles and young fishes, this type of fishing have been hazardous and risky causing loss of diversity and affected the overall aquatic diversity (Majumdar et al., 2020).

The common features among all the destructive methods are:

• These techniques are used where there is an excellent probability of capturing fish.
• They are practiced mostly in the remote areas falling near to cities.
• It affects the entire life stages of all the aquatic fauna.
• When using these techniques, the fish faint and float to the water's surface, where hand nets or bag nets are used to catch them

Conclusion: 

The destructive anthropogenic activities, such as the use of hazardous fishing gear, the use of fertilizers for fishing, the annual drying of beels, and overfishing, which results in a decrease in fish in the waterways.

According to this study, fish species diversity is decreasing due to anthropogenic activities, climate change, and the socioeconomic status of fishers. Remove a lot of biomass out of the ecosystem.

For conserve ecosystem, the government has adopted some strategies i.e., banning the use of harmful gears and minimum mesh size during the breeding season and sustainable fishing.

References

• Prasad, L., Jalaj, R., Pandey, S., & Kumar, A. (2013). Few indigenous traditional fishing method of Faizabad district of eastern Uttar Pradesh, India.
• Sarkar, U. K., Gupta, B. K., & Lakra, W. S. (2010). Biodiversity, ecohydrology, threat status and conservation priority of the freshwater fishes of river Gomti, a tributary of river Ganga (India). The Environmentalist, 30, 3-17.
• Majumdar, B. C., Paul, S. I., Hasan, M., Kabir, T., Islam, M., & Kabir, I. E. (2020). Fish biodiversity assemblages and fishing gears used at Chinadi Beel in Narsingdi District of Bangladesh. International Journal of Agriculture, Environment and Biotechnology, 13(4), 403-413.
• https://fisheries.up.gov.in/
• Sreekrishna, Latha Shenoy, Indian Council of Agricultural Research Directorate of Information and Publications on Agriculture. Fishing Gear and Graft Technology
• Sreekrishna Y & Shenoy L. 2001. Fishing Gear and Craft Technology. ICAR.
• Meenakumari, Boopendranath, Pravin , Saly Thomas and Leela Edwin 2009. Hand book of fishing Technology. CIFT (ICAR) Niseem Printers and Publishers, Cochin.

Authors:

Parul^1*, Satendra Kumar¹, Shubham Kashyap²

¹Chaudhary Charan Singh Agricultural University, College of Fisheries Science, Hisar (125004)

²Central Agricultural University, College of Fisheries, Tripura (799210)

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