Avoiding extinction: conservation initiatives to save a critically endangered giant freshwater fish in India

Research with state government departments, academic colleagues, a multi-national utility provider, fishery professionals, educators, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and local communities in India prevented an iconic giant freshwater fish from becoming extinct.

Issue

The hump-backed, orange-finned mahseer have been threatened by dam building since the early 1900s, leading to decreasing fish numbers. More recently, this has been compounded by unsustainable harvesting.

Tata Power instigated the ‘Mahseer Conservation Programme’ in 1975, involving releasing hatchery-reared mahseer to bolster their populations and mitigate the impacts of the dams. While the reared mahseer, an alien, smaller species, was rapidly invading the Cauvery River, the orange-finned mahseer, which was yet to be described, was heading for extinction.

The IUCN Red List is the most authoritative, comprehensive inventory of the status of biological diversity, but, without a valid scientific name, species cannot be assessed and included.