POSSIBILITIES OF NATURAL SPAWNING GROUND OF CARP SPECIES AT SURMA AND KUSHIARA RIVER IN SYLHET

Abstract

The study was conducted to assess the possibilities of natural spawning ground of carp fishes in Surma and Kushiara river for a period of four months during April to July 2015. Four locations were selected for this study to explore the existence of spawning ground and availability of carp spawn in the Sylhet haor basin. The sampling points were Hetimganj point (Surma river), Bhadeswar point (Kushiara river), Monumukh point (Kushiara river) and Atgram point (Surma river). The research was carried out by setting up two Savar nets at each sampling points of river site for the collection of fish seed sample. The sampling net was observed four times in a day at six hours interval and fish seed samples were collected. The collected samples were transferred and stocked immediately in a small pond (1 decimal) at the Fish Seed Multiplication Farm (FSMF), Golapganj. The collected samples were reared for a period of 15 days for species identification. Water quality parameters were observed monthly during the study period. A good catch of carp fish seeds were observed in Hetimganj point compared to other three points. About 3105 gm of carp fish seed was collected from this point. Spawn fishing intensity was 186.56 gm/day/net in new moon and 20 gm/day/net in full moon at Hetimganj point. The water quality parameters of the four selected sampling sites were found in the suitable range and no significant difference of the parameters among the sampling sites. It is revealed that the availability of carp fish seed at Hetimganj point manifested the natural spawning ground in Surma River. The results indicate the possibilities of spawning ground of carp species in the river of greater Sylhet region. Therefore, a further large scale study is necessary to confirm the existence of natural spawning ground of Indian Major Carp in this region.