J W et Eco 2011 (5): 73-78 Srivastava & Srivastava 2011 73 Journal of W etlands Ecology Wetland Friends of Nepal (WFN) http://www.nepjol.info/index.php/jowe ISSN: 2091-0363 Short N ot e Indigenous fishing gears in Suraha Lake, Ballia, Uttar Pradesh, India P.K. Srivastava 1 & S. J. Srivastava 2 12 Department of Zoology, S.M.M. Town Post Graduate College, Ballia. 277 001, Uttar Pradesh, India Present address: 1 Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute (ICAR), Barrackpore, Kolkata. 700 120, West Bengal, India Received:2011-05-02 Accepted: 2011-06-30 Published:2011-12-30 Abstract The study aimed at assessing the indigenous fishing methods adopted by the fishermen in Suraha Lake. Survey was conducted during August 2002 - July 2004. Information was collected through participatory rapid appraisal covering the entire lake and four fishermen villages viz Mairitar, Surajpura, Kaithauli and Basantpur. Study indicated that various types of local indigenous traditional fishing gears are used by fishers for commercial exploitation of the lake. Plank-built boats (Dingi) were used in the fishing. These boats are small and light and prepared locally by fishers. Gill net and cast net were the main gears and contributed more then 80% of the total fish catch of the lake. Indigenous fishing gears comprising gill nets, cast nets, traps, etc., have been discussed showing their modus operandi. Key words:Indigenous fishing methods, suraha lake * Corresponding Author: P.K. Srivastava, e-mail: pksrivastava17@yahoo.co.in INTRODUCTION In Suraha Lake a number of traditional indigenous fishing techniques are used by the fishers since long. During the course of this study many indigenous fishing methods were observed, which are employed by the fishers for the commercial exploitation of Suraha Lake. It includes a wide variety of fishing gears like gill nets, cast nets and traps. The plank-built boats are used in the fishing. These fishing crafts and gears are locally prepared by the fishers. Fishing is the main occupation of fishers living around the vicinity of the lake. The crafts/gears and the fishing methods play a vital role in the scientific and judicious exploitation of any water body and its management (Kolekar 2009). A total 53 fish species were reported from Suraha Lake, 21 species belonging to Cypriniformes, 12 Siluriformes, 3 Symbranchiformes, 13 Perciformes, 1 Tetradontiformes, 3 Clupeiformes and 1 species to Beloniformes (Srivastava and Srivastava 2009). The Cypriniformes contributed maximum being 36% of the total record. Among the fish catch structure the cat fishes and featherbacks were most important (35- 40%) followed by IMC (15-20%), minnows (15-20%), air breathing fishes (5-10%) and minor carps (2-5%). A sharp decline in Indian Major Carps has been observed during the last one decade showing an increasing trend of minnows and cat fishes in the lake. The abundance of fish species was maximum in summer season 2 . Many workers have studied the fishing methods being followed in many rivers and lakes of the country (Hornell 1923; Jhingran 1963; Saxena 1966; Naik and Neelakanthan 1988; Sahoo et al., 2007; Datta and Bhattacharjya 2009; Gurumayum and Choudhury 2009).