Arunachal Pradesh is the largest of all the Northeastern states, housing millions of living beings in the area which also includes aquatic life.
To learn and conserve aquatic biodiversity, Arunachal Pradesh will soon get a fish museum, the first of its kind in the Northeast, according to Fisheries Minister Tage Taki. The museum would be a part of the Integrated Aqua Park (IAP), which has been approved by the Union Ministry of Fisheries and will contain every kind of fish found in the state as well as act as a training facility for fishing communities. The current Tarin Fish Farm (TFF), which is situated in the high-altitude Bulla hamlet in Ziro Valley, will be modified to serve as the IAP where the museum would be built.
To highlight the aquatic biodiversity of the state: in 2021, three new Aborichthys species of the Nemachelidae family of fish were discovered in Arunachal Pradesh. New species have been identified and named Aborichthys uniobarensis, Aborichthys barapensis, and Aborichthys palinensis by a team of researchers from Department of Zoology of Dera Natung Government College. According to Prasanta Nanda, an associate professor and head of the zoology department at the Dera Natung Government College, the three fish species can be encountered in streams including Senki, Barap, and Palin, which are tributaries of the Brahmaputra river system. The details of the discovery have been published in the Journal of Threatened Taxa, the Asian Journal of Conservation Biology, and FishTaxa. Additionally, in 2020, the state of Arunachal Pradesh saw the discovery of a new fish species named 'Schizothorax sikusirumensis' in honour of the rivers Siku and Sirum in the East Siang district, where it was discovered. The discovery was made by Dr. Keshav Kumar Jha, associate professor and head of the zoology department at Jawaharlal Nehru College in Pasighat, who is credited with finding the new species of fish.
Before that in 2019, a team led by Prof. D N Das, which consisted of a research group from Rajiv Gandhi University (RGU) studying fisheries and aquatic ecology found five new fish species native to the State. Among these species are the Mystus prabini, which was found in the Sinkin and Dibang rivers in the Lower Dibang Valley district, the Exostoma kottelati, which was found in the Ranga river in the Lower Subansiri district, the Creteuchiloglanis tawangensis, which was found in the Tawangchu river in the Tawang district, the Garra ranganensis, which was found in the Ranga river, and the Physoschistura harkishorei (discovered in the Dibang and the Lohit rivers in the Lower Dibang Valley district). Furthermore, Aborichthys is endemic to the eastern Himalayas which inhabits the moderate-to-fast flowing water of mountain rivers, streams, and drainages of the Brahmaputra river basin, according to researchers.
We would like to call upon the response of the public to discuss and share valuable suggestions on importance of conserving the aquatic biodiversity of the state.
Ramakrishna Lakshmanan 1 year 8 months ago
Marine biodiversity can be preserved by creating awareness about the importance of preserving natural ecosystem evening while pursuing modernization for ease of living. Camps must be held across all districts to educate masses about the need to preserve marine diversity. Campaigns must be run across the length and breadth of the state. Preserving flora and fauna is detrimental to overall well being of all species including humans. Marine biodiversity is also crucial to be preserved for existence