WATER QUALITY PARAMETERS, CHECKLIST OF FISHES AND SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF AQUATIC RESOURCES IN FLOODPLAIN WETLANDS: THE STUDY OF SOLUA BEEL AND PAHARPUR FCS OF MURSHIDABAD DISTRICT OF WEST BENGAL, INDIA

Wetlands act as ecotone between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and play very important role in the environment. India is endowed with large number of floodplain wetlands which are an integral component of long river basins of the country. Murshidabad district of West Bengal has many such floodplain wetlands formed from the Ganga and the Padma river basin and the Solua beel is one of them. A study on the water quality parameters, checklist of fishes and present status of the fishermen cooperative society (FCS) associated with the beel has been made using the standard methods. The study revealed that the water quality of Solua beel was mostly within the optimum range for the survival and growth of fishes and other aquatic organisms. High infestation of water hyacinth and aquatic macrophytes has also been observed. The checklist of fishes of the beel showed that there were altogether 49 species belonging to 21 families and 7 orders found in the beel. The highest percentage of the fish species has been found from the fish family Cyprinidae (35%) and the fish order Cypriniformes (43%). No exotic species has been found in the Solua beel. The beel has been under the control and management of Paharpur FCS Ltd since its formation in 1958. The assessment of the present status of the society revealed that fishermen members had very low literacy rate with very low income but the members had traditional knowledge of sustainable management of aquatic resources. The society was facing constraints in fish production due to sedimentation that led to decreased water flow to the beel from the connecting river, decline in fish species as well as high weed infestation in the beel. The paper also discusses about the utilization of traditional knowledge of the fishermen associated with various water bodies for sustainable management of floodplain wetlands and other aquatic resources and suitable recommendations have been made in this regard.