In the past decade, different fish varieties including Trout and Mahaseer were plentiful in the pristine glacier and spring-fed rivers/streams. However, due to rapid population growth and in order to satisfy the requirement of rapid construction in the valley, the demand for raw material extraction from rivers/streams increased which led to massive fish kills. Despite prior warnings from experts, the authorities continue to remain unmoved and the extraction from the valley’s trout rivers, streams, and other water bodies, which are home to abundant aquatic life, has been left unchecked, thus posing a serious threat to fish species of J&K.
This study highlights the risks of unchecked mining to trout fish in Jammu and Kashmir and how policies can be improved. It argues that the government needs to adopt a more ecological approach to mining to make it less damaging to the important aquatic habitat.
Kashmir’s Fishing Industry
Jammu and Kashmir produces 20,000 tonnes of fish each year while 93,000 people depend on fisheries for their livelihood in the Union Territory. According to the reports, the fisheries department has established 534 trout units in the private sector. In addition, 17,398 families earn their livelihood by catching fish. It is important to go into the fascinating story of the introduction of Trout to Kashmir; in 1899, the Duke of Bedford graciously brought 10,000 trout ova to Kashmir from the United Kingdom. Unfortunately, the batch died in transit because there was no air transportation. The second cargo of trout eggs, which included 1800 fry, came from Scotland on December 19th, 1900, in outstanding shape. Some of these were released in Dachigam and Michel. The remaining ones were raised until they were fingerlings before releasing them in other streams across the Valley. While the indigenous snow trout continued to prosper, the imported rainbow and brown trout successfully acclimated to the J&K. Since then these varieties of trout became a source of employment, attraction to tourists, and adornment of Kashmiri streams.
Reckless extraction with no exception for trout streams
Massive urbanization and population growth over the past ten years have put pressure on the river Jhelum and its tributaries, many of which are being mined for building materials including sand, gravel, and boulders while dismissing valid environmental concerns. As a result of careless extraction, the flora, and fauna that live in them have suffered greatly which is causing the devastation of aquatic habitats, destroying fish breeding sites, and removing fish from their natural habitats.
Among 13 species of the Schizothorax, also known as Kashorgard or Alegard locally, according to researcher Iqbal Dar, just five species are currently found in Kashmir waters, with eight species having gone extinct such as Botia and Birdi while three more are on the brink of extinction as a result of anthropogenic activities and the destruction of their breeding or feeding grounds. Trout farming has been practiced in over 142 rivers, streams, and lakes in Jammu and Kashmir apart from private units. But the government has no qualms about leasing them out for mineral mining. Not adhering to the guidelines of the Jammu and Kashmir Fisheries act, 2018 which remain intact even after the abrogation of Article 370.
In the Tral area of Pulwama district, Naristan is a 49-kilometer-long, meandering snow-fed trout stream. A 2.69-hectare block of the stream, an essential component of the local trout habitat, was allowed for gravel and boulder mining by the authorities in April 2020. The Kashmir Valley’s other streams are also in danger. Naristan is just one of the many streams, such as Lidder, Bringhi, and Arin, that face the serious issue of unchecked mining.
According to the Jammu and Kashmir Fisheries Act, before granting approval for mineral extraction, the Department of Geology and Mining must consult the Department of Fisheries. However, according to the fisheries department, this important procedure is not practiced. In this regard, the Department of Fisheries expressed their concerns with the Principal Secretary of the J&K Government through a letter.
The letter reads, “The illegal, unscientific and rampant extraction of bed material like sand, Bajri, boulders, etc. from these natural water bodies have also led to annihilation, extinction, and extermination of fish biota from these habitats due to ecological imbalance without consideration of Environmental Action Plan. Moreover, the trenches/pools so created by mechanical extraction act as mortality ditches in which the fish particularly the juveniles get trapped and thus cause substantial damage to the existence of fish species.”
However almost two years have passed, but no substantial initiative has been taken to stop the unscientific extraction and the situation has turned from bad to worse. Take the example of Nallah Sukhnag which lies in the Beerwah area of Budgam and has been identified by the Government as a trout stream. However, from Arizal to Ohangam hundreds of tractors and other heavy machines could be sighted extracting stones and sand from it causing deep trenches. Consequently, the abode of thousands of fish has been annihilated under the very noses of the administration.
An official of the Department of Fisheries told the author that despite being declared a trout stream Geological and Mining Department is giving permission to extract minerals from it and consequently devastating its fish breed. Similarly, in the trout streams of Bandipora including Erin, Gurez, and Madhumati, Tippers loaded with sand and boulders are making rounds in these streams posing a severe threat to the habitation of these streams. Consequently, the fish capture per unit effort has also declined over time in the majority of the Valley’s water bodies.
Post Article 370 abrogation, no particular protection for trout streams was provided by the new regulations for the extraction of minor minerals that superseded the tougher approach under the old law. For the first time, the regulations have allowed outsiders to bid on mining contracts in Kashmir. In fact, outside businesses and individuals have captured the majority of mining contracts for minerals in the streams and rivers. Pertinently, the local miners would mine manually at most of the sites and its impact on the ecology of streams was less. However, after outsiders secured the mining contracts the extraction process became faster and unsustainable.
Contractors and potentially even government organizations are breaking several of the blatantly stated standards for environmental protection by using heavy machinery in the ecologically fragile trout streams. The topography of streams is changing drastically due to the use of heavy machinery. Heaps of stones can be found lying near some streams and pits have formed due to digging in other spots. These streams cannot be recovered for trout breeding if the extraction continued in the same pattern for a long.
Recommendation:
- The Department of Fisheries has already listed the trout streams of the valley on its website. Every year, the department drops thousands of fingerlings worth lakhs of rupees in these streams. However, due to the mining in these streams, the efforts of the department are not yielding the expected results as the breeding and feeding places of fish are being destroyed. It is paramount that the Geological and Mining Department should not lease these trout streams for mining without consulting the concerned Department of Fisheries. There are many dry patches of rivers that can be used for mining so that the trout streams could be spared.
- The concerned authorities need to act now, and decisively to prevent the present fish species in Kashmiri streams from rapidly declining. Illegal mining should be prohibited, and areas that are frequently inhabited by breeds like the vulnerable Schizothorax must be identified as extremely sensitive to mining/human activities. These zones should also be monitored for the maintenance of water quality parameters so that fish species have enough time to expand. To give fish species a chance of recovery, fishing should be restricted to 3–4 days per week. The same recommendation should be conveyed to the other concerned authorities for implementation.
- Mass awareness with the involvement of the local people can go a long way for the restoration and preservation of aquatic habitats. Priority should be given to raising awareness of the impact of fish decline on humans as it has remained the cheap source of proteins for the middle and poorer classes.
- There are more reasons that are impacting the trout streams e.g the sewage draining from the houses goes directly into these streams, contaminating the water and habitation in it. Similarly, the use of biocides (pesticides, insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, etc.) and other chemicals in horticulture and agriculture are finding their way into water resources thus polluting them and as a result, impacting the aquatic biota, particularly fish. The government has already framed policies for liquid waste management and guidelines for using pesticides. The policies need to be implemented effectively and guidelines should be followed strictly around the trout streams across Jammu and Kashmir.
Conclusion
The fishing industry of Jammu and Kashmir is already facing grave challenges of climate change and pollution and leasing the trout-fishing rivers/streams for mineral extraction is like hammering the final nail in the coffin. The renowned Kashmiri fish will soon disappear from the valley if the unlawful excavation, which has an adverse effect on the ability of fish to reproduce, of sand and rocks from the trout-filled streams/rivers continues. The government needs to improve the policies with regard to sustainable fishing and adopt a more ecological approach to mining to make it less damaging to the important aquatic habitat.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2214790X22001836:
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