Kashmir’s aquatic life in peril

Srinagar, Jul 4: Indigenous fish species in the Jhelum River and its canals are under severe threat due to a prolonged dry spell, soaring temperatures, and rising pollution, according to fisheries officials and experts.

The lower stretches of the Jhelum – from south to central and north Kashmir - along with its tributaries, once teeming with native species like the Kashmiri schizothorax, are now witnessing a sharp decline in fish populations.

While exotic species, such as carp, are better equipped to withstand deteriorating conditions, native fish are struggling to survive in increasingly oxygen-deprived waters.

“Carp can survive low oxygen and depleted waters because they possess accessory respiratory organs apart from gills,” said Shabir Ahmad, Assistant Director of the Fisheries Department. “But our indigenous fish lack such adaptations and are vulnerable to even slight environmental stress.”

He said unscientific extraction creates deep trenches where fingerlings get trapped.

“When the water recedes, they have no chance to escape,” Ahmad said.

Fish generally thrive in water temperatures between 20 and 25 degrees Celsius.

However, in the lower stretches of the Jhelum and irrigation canals, water temperatures have exceeded optimal levels, significantly reducing dissolved oxygen.

“As temperatures rise, oxygen levels drop and pollution increases. This creates hostile conditions for aquatic life,” said Muhammad Sidique, a senior official of the Fisheries Department. “The stress slows fish growth and significantly impacts the survival of fingerlings.”

He said that the changes in the water’s physico-chemical properties could prove fatal for aquatic life and reduce breeding success.

“With reduced river flow, residues of pesticides, fertilisers, and other agrochemicals become more concentrated, posing a toxic threat to fish, their progeny, and other fauna,” he said. “And as water levels drop, fish become more exposed to predators and poaching.”

A video posted Thursday from Batengoo village in Anantnag showed thousands of fingerlings gasping in the dry bed of the Nandi Canal, which irrigates several villages in Hom Shalibugh - the rice bowl region of Kulgam and Anantnag.

Locals were seen rescuing the struggling fish and releasing them into the Jhelum.

“I saw hundreds of dead fish and many more barely surviving. I didn’t wait for anyone and immediately began shifting them to the river,” said Suhail Dar, a local who filmed the scene.

Officials say unregulated sand, soil, and boulder mining in rivers and streams has worsened the crisis.

For fishing communities, the impact is already being felt.

Bashir Ahmad Furoo, a fisherman from Gadhanjpora village in Bijbehara, said he once caught 10 kg of fish a day.

Now, he struggles to catch even 1 kg.

“Our livelihoods are vanishing,” he said.

About 200 families in his village depend on fishing for income.

Experts warn that the degradation of aquatic ecosystems is disrupting the entire food chain.

“From insects to algae, all organisms in the aquatic food web are being affected,” said Shakeel Ahmad Romshoo, noted geologist and earth scientist.

While conditions in the lower reaches remain critical, officials say cold, glacial-fed streams in upper areas, including Lidder, Brengi, Sandran, Veth Vethustu, Aaripat, Vaishaw, Tongri Nallah, Aaripal, and Rambiara, as well as the springs in south Kashmir and other cold streams and springs in central and north Kashmir, are still supporting healthy fish populations.

“These upper streams have optimal temperatures and oxygen levels. Indigenous species like snow trout are doing well there,” Shabir Ahmad said. “Exotic species like rainbow trout, like the carp, also continue to adapt and, if necessary, can migrate upstream.”

But in the Jhelum and its canals downstream, the ecological balance continues to tip dangerously against native species.