A three-day workshop-cum-brainstorming session on the topic ‘Impact of temperature on physiological stress, survival, growth & reproductive competent of fishes of North East India’ under the National Innovations on Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) was held at the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) Research Complex for North East Hill Region, Manipur Centre, Lamphelpat in Imphal from March 22 to March 24.
NICRA is a network of project of ICAR launched in February 2011. The workshop was participated by 41 students and research scholars from different universities and fisheries officers from the Department of Fisheries, Government of Manipur.
In the workshop, organized by ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region, Manipur Centre, Imphal, was participated as resources persons by Dr Samarendra Hazarika, Principal Scientist & Principal Investigator of NICRA, Dr SK Das, Principal Scientist & Head of Fishery Division, ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region, Umiam; Dr L Kosygin Singh, Zoological Survey of India, Kolkota; Dr Ch Basudha Devi, Senior Scientist, ICAR Manipur Centre and S Gojendro Singh, Scientist, ICAR, Umiam.
The resource persons spoke on many issues regarding the potential stresses, changes in the fish behaviour, diseases in fish and mitigation and adaptation strategies in fisheries and aquaculture in the Northeastern region of India.
Most of the speakers as well as those scholars attended in the workshop observed that most of water bodies in the Northeastern region are seasonal and as a result, fish and other aquatic lives are more vulnerable to temperature changes due to limited dispersal ability within hydro graphic networks.
The early life of fish suffers a lot due to temperature change and subsequently hampers ovarian development, fertilization, incubation of eggs and embryo formation of fishes, they observed.
Each fish species requires a very specific temperature for growth and survival, the participants felt. The experts also suggested for a holistic approach studies against the changes cause in fish by climate change in the region.