Tracking Mahseer

The question of how best to protect aquatic biodiversity is a pressing one as many countries expand their development that directly impacts rivers. Unfortunately, there is a substantial lack of basic biological information for many freshwater fish, and that hinders conservation efforts and sustainable management plans.  In Bhutan, they are addressing this deficiency of ecological information for their largest and culturally significant fish, the migratory Golden Mahseer. 

Our Work in Bhutan

DangmeChu, MangdeChu, and the Manas River: The Mahseer Conservation and Research Project was officially launched in March 2015 and was conducted via a partnership between the Fisheries Conservation Foundation, World Wildlife Fund—Bhutan, and the Bhutan Ministry of Agriculture and Forests. The study used radio telemetry to assess the movements of both Golden Mahseer (Tor putitora) and Chocolate Mahseer (Neolissochilus hexagonolepsis) and was a ground-breaking collaboration for mahseer research as no study of this scope had been attempted before.  Over the course of five years, Mahseer movements were tracked to determine where Mahseer traveled during the monsoon season, where they overwintered, and if Mahseer swim across the southern border into India. 

Sunkosh River: The first telemetry study provided a trove of meaningful data, however each watershed in Bhutan has unique environmental characteristics as well as human developmental impacts that can influence Mahseer behavior and population health. Therefore, we are assessing the Sunkosh basin to focus on the local conservation strategies for this river.

Collecting biological data is imperative for the sustainable management of Mahseer in the Sunkosh, including playing a major role in the economic success of Bhutan’s new recreational fishing program.  In addition, understanding how large human development projects, such as hydropower, road building, sand mining, gravel washing, temporary housing, etc., impact both river and fish health is important for guiding future planning. 

To achieve insight into these management needs, the new Mahseer Tracking Project will focus on 1) determining the migration patterns for Mahseer in the Punatsancgchu-Sunkosh basin, including prime spawning and overwintering locations, 2) determining which tributaries are key spawning areas and serve as nursery areas for juveniles, and 3) assessing the factors that put Mahseer populations at risk within the basin.

Our Work in Pakistan and Thailand

The work in Bhutan has served as a model for studying Mahseer and other migratory fish in the region.  In 2018, FCF was part of setting up a telemetry project in the Ngao River in Thailand, and in 2020, FCF assisted in a new radio-telemetry study in Pakistan’s Poonch River to understand how Golden Mahseer and snow trout migrations have been altered by the Gulpur Dam.