Snowtrout fishery in Garhwal Himalaya: Causes of depletion and strategy for propagation

Abstract

Snowtrout  (Schizothorax sp.)  is  an  important group  of fishes  in Indian  uplands   and  is prone  to decline due to several  anthropogenic  activities  and natural  disasters.  However,  the natural  behaviour of the  group   is  also  one  of the  important constraints  for  its  self-propagation  in  the  nature.  It requires  attention  for the  conservation  and propagation  through  in-situ  as well as ex-situ  measures. The  in-situ  refers  to -  aquaculture under  controlled  conditions for  propagation of the  group  by developing artificial  breeding programmes for high seed requirement,  better management  of incubation patterns  and  rational  management of water  bodies  including  development  of sanctuaries,  where  the fishing  would  be banned.  The  artificial breeding  and snowtrout  seed production   technique   in flow through  hatchery can  be  adopted at  commercial  level  for  mass  scale  snowtrout seed  production. Sometimes  unavailability of either  sex of the mature  brooder  at the time of artificial  fertilization in hatchery  is  a major constraint in the  artificial  breeding  programmes.  Cryopreservation of gametes has  emerged  as a promising   and  a very useful  technique  to facilitate   artificial  breeding  in several fishes.   The  cryopreservation  of milt  of snowtrout finds  its  role  right  here.  Initial  attempts  for developing  cryopreservation  protocol  for snowtrout  milt  are very much  promising.  More  concerted efforts  for commercializing  the reproductive techniques   including  cryopreservation of gametes  will certainly  be helpful  for the  strategic propagation  of snowtrout   in  cold-water  bodies.