Assessment of fish biodiversity in Amochhu river basin

Abstract

Baseline data collection on fish biodiversity assessment in Amochhu river basin within Amochhu Land Development and Township Project was conducted in 2019-2020. Roughly nine kilometer stretch of Amochhu river (Torsa) was segmented using global positioning system coordinates into six sampling sites that stretched right from the Indo-Bhutan border. Two of its tributaries, Lowrichhu and Omchhu were also sampled for this study. The survey recorded 46 fish species under five orders, 14 families and 35 genera. The highest number of fish species was recorded for Cypriniformes (S = 31). Fishes recorded in the study were grouped under global categories in accordance to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Three fish species were found to be endangered, three deemed vulnerable, three near-threatened and 28 the least concerned. However, four species were declared data deficient and five were not evaluated. The fish biodiversity in Amochhu river basin is highly susceptible to anthropogenic activities. Thus, appropriate conservation policy measures must be put in place to mitigate impact on fish biodiversity from anthropogenic activities.