Rare ornamental fish from Assam on the brink of extinction

Rare ornamental fish from Assam on the brink of extinction

Source: mongabay

11/17/2021

Channa barca or the Barca snakehead fish, a rare species of snakehead endemic to the upper Brahmaputra river basin in northeastern India and Bangladesh.
Since it is a rare, ornamental fish, it is in high demand in the international market and is susceptible to illegal trade. But it still does not have significant legal protection.
There have been proposals to include it as a scheduled animal in India’s wildlife laws while some experts say that if the government wants to exploit the commercial value of the ornamental fish, it should be done through captive breeding and monoculture.

It’s late May and it has been raining continuously since the last three days. The beels and ponds of Orang National Park in Assam are filling up again. Monsoon is here and so is the season to make some extra bucks, Jalaluddin thought to himself. He has already discussed this with a few local fishermen of the fringe villages of the Park. If they can catch the ‘Pipli Cheng’ fish for him, he has promised to reward them handsomely. The buyer in Guwahati has promised him Rs. 35,000 for a single ‘Pipli Cheng’ fish. Even if he has to pay Rs. 10,000 for a single fish to the fisherman, he can still make a decent profit, Jalaluddin knows.

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