Stock assessment of rosy barb, Pethia conchonius (Hamilton, 1822) in Dal Lake of Kashmir Himalayas

For management of fish stocks, assessing the various parameters of population dynamics are regarded as being extremely important. Under this backdrop the population dynamics parameters viz. growth, mortality and recruitment of Pethia conchonius, inhabiting the Dal Lake of Kashmir Himalayas were analysed using FiSAT II software. The analysed specimens were collected from five different sites within the lake and exhibited a total weight range of 0.3 to 6.4 g and a total length range of 3.1 to 7.8 cm. The relative condition factor for the fish was reported to be 1.11. The growth parameter i.e., asymptotic length, age at zero length, growth performance index and growth constant were reported to be 10.0 cm, –0.75 years, 1.48 and 0.30 year–1 respectively. The total mortality of 1.49 year–1, consisting of natural mortality of 0.88 year–1 and fishing mortality of 0.61 year–1 was reported. An exploitation rate of 0.41 is suggestive of a less exploited state of the fish. The length at first maturity was found to be higher than the length at first capture, a condition that can disturb the stock, as such the utility of a net with relatively larger mesh size is advisable. The current research on the population dynamics of P. conchonius can be used as the baseline data for its management practices.