Wetlands and their Fish Diversity in Assam (India)

Abstract

Water is indispensably important for sustenance of life. Wetlands serve as potential reservoirs of water which also harbour coveted bioresources, which sustain animal life. Fish is a potential bioresource for nutrition and offer work places for people. The Asian continent has innumerable wetlands with the Indian sub-continent portraying myriads of wetlands of different kinds, including perennial wetlands (locally called “Beel” or “Taal”), seasonal floodplain wetlands (“Haor”) and river-formed oxbow wetlands (“Anua”). In addition to playing a pivotal role in providing nutrition and work places to the people, wetlands also play a significant role in flood management, in regulating biogeochemical cycles, and above all, perhaps, in the rehabilitation of the innumerable fish stocks.