Diversity, Threat and Conservation of Fishes in Jhelum River, Kashmir
Shabana Arjamand, Shamim Ahmed MalikFishes constitute an important part of an aquatic ecosystem and play a significant role in the economy of a region. Any alteration in the aquatic system has strong impact on fishes which affect its diversity. This situation was investigated in the present study wherein diversity, threat status and conservation strategies of fishes in river Jhelum were studied. The fish samples were collected from four designated sites of the river. Seven species of fishes were identified, the population of each species was found to be declined considerably over the period indicating attention to restore ichthyofaunal diversity. The study undertaken will have great implication in predicting the ichthyofaunal status of the river and conservation strategies needed.