Research advances in climate and environmental change impacts on inland fisheries of India: status, vulnerability and mitigation strategies

Abstract

Climatic variability threatens inland ecosystems, fisheries, societies and economies globally. The impacts are evident in India as manifested by altered geographic distribution, loss of species, change in breeding period, life cycle and physiological behaviour of inland fishes. In India, several inland fisheries research advancements have been made including development of innovative environmental, climatological and biological thresholds associated with successful spawning of fish species in the Ganges River basin, which is a landmark in predicting reproductive adaptation and minimum fitness required for natural breeding. The innovative concept of determining a threshold condition factor of the female fish population to indicate readiness for spawning, expressed as pre-spawning fitness (Kspawn50), has been used to map and benchmark several freshwater fish species and thereby identify potential climate resilient species. A flow chart showing the impact of climatic variability in inland fisheries and climate resilient fisheries have been conceptualized. Moreover, research pertaining to climate change and its impact on aquatic ecology and fisheries, heat wave studies, climate resilient adaptation techniques, carbon sequestration potential of wetlands, and vulnerability assessment framework at various levels has also been reported. In the present compilation we synthesize, report, and discuss the status of scientific advancements on the impact of the climate change, and associated impacts on inland ecosystems and fisheries at various levels, which would help in developing mitigation and adaptation strategies.