No apologies for once again using Mahseer Trust member Ade Kiddell’s fantastic image of a hump-backed mahseer. This photo shows what we will all miss when the River Cauvery is completely dominated by the Tata corporation’s Tor khudree.
Trust Director, Adrian Pinder and Trustee Rajeev Raghavan, along with Rob Britton of Bournemouth University have today released a long-overdue paper in the acclaimed scientific journal Endangered Species Research. In it, they have concluded that the hump-backed mahseer faces complete extinction within a generation unless State Fisheries Departments and other fish breeders in India choose to act.
Over the last month, the Mahseer Trust has begun a concerted publicity campaign to draw attention to the plight of these fish. It is our firm belief that stockings of artificially bred Tor khudree, the blue-finned mahseer of Maharastra, is one of the major culprits in the demise of the fish formerly known as Tor mussulah.
As regular readers of these newsletters and Tor magazine will know, Tor mussulah is no longer a valid scientific name for the hump-backed mahseer. This brings home the prospect of the largest mahseer species known leaving our planet before it even gets a name.
The Mahseer Trust has a plan of action, which involves artificial breeding of hump-backed mahseer using the knowledge and facilities that we know exist in India. We believe we have located small populations of hump-backed mahseer from which we can collect eggs and sperm to begin the process of replacing the blue-finned mahseer. What is missing is the political will to make it happen, but if you help to spread the word, perhaps we can change the misguided mindset that currently prevails…
Please share any or all of this news to help us join forces with Tata and the State Fisheries Departments of India to work for the common good and ensure endemic diversity in the River Cauvery.
If you need any more information, or to offer any thoughts or feedback, please do not hesitate to leave a message on our Facebook page, or email steve@mahseertrust.org
