Editing Ganges (section)

===Fish===
[[File:Catla catla India.jpg|thumb|The [[catla]] (''Catla catla'') is one of the Indian carp species that support major fisheries in the Ganges.]]

It has been estimated that about 350 fish species live in the entire Ganges drainage, including several [[Endemism|endemics]].<ref>{{cite book |editor1=Allen, D.J. |editor2=S. Molur |editor3=B.A. Daniel  | title=The Status and Distribution of Freshwater Biodiversity in the Eastern Himalaya | year=2010 | publisher=IUCN | page=23 | isbn=978-2-8317-1324-3 }}</ref> In a major 2007–2009 study of fish in the Ganges basin (including the river itself and its tributaries, but excluding the Brahmaputra and Meghna basins), a total of 143 fish species were recorded, including 10 non-native [[introduced species]].<ref name=Sarkar2012>{{cite journal |author1=Sarkar |author2=Pathak |author3=Sinha |author4=Sivakumar |author5=Pandian |author6=Pandey |author7=Dubey |author8=Lakra  | title=Freshwater fish biodiversity in the River Ganga (India): changing pattern, threats and conservation perspectives | year=2012 | journal=Rev Fish Biol Fisheries | volume=22 |issue=1 | pages=251–272 | doi=10.1007/s11160-011-9218-6 |bibcode=2012RFBF...22..251S |s2cid=16719029 }}</ref> The most diverse orders are [[Cypriniformes]] (barbs and allies), [[Siluriformes]] (catfish) and [[Perciformes]] (perciform fish), each comprising about 50%, 23% and 14% of the total fish species in the drainage.<ref name=Sarkar2012/>

There are distinct differences between the different sections of the river basin, but [[Cyprinidae]] is the most diverse throughout. In the upper section (roughly equalling the basin parts in Uttarakhand) more than 50 species have been recorded and Cyprinidae alone accounts for almost 80% those, followed by [[Balitoridae]] (about 15.6%) and [[Sisoridae]] (about 12.2%).<ref name=Sarkar2012/> Sections of the Ganges basin at altitudes above {{convert|2400-3000|m|ft|abbr=on}} above sea level are generally without fish. Typical genera approaching this altitude are ''[[Schizothorax]]'', ''[[Tor (fish)|Tor]]'', ''[[Barilius]]'', ''[[Nemacheilus]]'' and ''[[Glyptothorax]]''.<ref name=Sarkar2012/> About 100 species have been recorded from the middle section of the basin (roughly equalling the sections in Uttar Pradesh and parts of Bihar) and more than 55% of these are in family Cyprinidae, followed by [[Schilbeidae]] (about 10.6%) and [[Clupeidae]] (about 8.6%).<ref name=Sarkar2012/> The lower section (roughly equalling the basin in parts of Bihar and West Bengal) includes major floodplains and is home to almost 100 species. About 46% of these are in the family Cyprinidae, followed by Schilbeidae (about 11.4%) and [[Bagridae]] (about 9%).<ref name=Sarkar2012/>

The Ganges basin supports major fisheries, but these have declined in recent decades. In the [[Prayagraj]] region in the middle section of the basin, catches of carp fell from 424.91 metric tons in 1961–1968 to 38.58 metric tons in 2001–2006, and catches of catfish fell from 201.35 metric tons in 1961–1968 to 40.56 metric tons in 2001–2006.<ref name=Sarkar2012/> In the [[Patna]] region in the lower section of the basin, catches of carp fell from 383.2 metric tons to 118, and catfish from 373.8 metric tons to 194.48.<ref name=Sarkar2012/> Some of the fish commonly caught in fisheries include [[catla]] (''Catla catla''), [[golden mahseer]] (''Tor putitora''), [[tor mahseer]] (''Tor tor''), [[rohu]] (''Labeo rohita''), [[walking catfish]] (''Clarias batrachus''), [[pangas catfish]] (''Pangasius pangasius''), [[Bagarius|goonch catfish]] (''Bagarius''), [[Snakehead (fish)|snakeheads]] (''Channa''), [[bronze featherback]] (''Notopterus notopterus'') and [[milkfish]] (''Chanos chanos'').<ref name=Britannica/><ref name=Sarkar2012/>

The Ganges basin is home to about 30 fish species that are listed as threatened with the primary issues being [[overfishing]] (sometimes illegal), pollution, water abstraction, [[siltation]] and [[invasive species]].<ref name=Sarkar2012/> Among the threatened species is the [[critically endangered]] [[Ganges shark]] (''Glyphis gangeticus'').<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.fishbase.org/summary/SpeciesSummary.php?genusname=Glyphis&speciesname=gangeticus |title= Glyphis gangeticus, Ganges shark |publisher= [[FishBase]] |access-date= 7 May 2011 |archive-date= 28 March 2024 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240328172528/https://fishbase.mnhn.fr/summary/Glyphis-gangeticus.html |url-status= live }}</ref> Several fish species [[Fish migration|migrate]] between different sections of the river, but these movements may be prevented by the building of dams.<ref name=Sarkar2012/>