Invasion, spread and predominance of alien invasive fishes were studied
in 950-km-long stretch of the Yamuna River. The fish yield ranged between 32
t/km/yr to 240 t/km/yr and the catch of alien invasive fishes dominated over
local fishes in the fishery, which was over 96% at Etawah. The calculated Invasion
Coefficient Index (Ixi) of
alien invasive fishes was in the range of 0.12 to 0.31 indicating a major loss
to the local fish diversity. The calculated Pearson’s correlation coefficient was found to have positive correlation of 0.757
and 0.710 for common carp and tilapia respectively with locally captured
Indian major carps (IMC). The results of this study highlighted how unintentional
spread of alien invasive fishes due to rapid aquaculture diversification and
intensification has invaded into the Yamuna River causing severe loss to the
local fishery. The invasion of alien fishes has been mapped for the Yamuna
River at different locations using GIS tools. The results of this study invite
attention on the management and sustainability of the local fishery and ecosystem
health of the river.
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