'Tuka- Feka' Fishery- An Indigenous Fishing Practice to catch Indian Major Carps in Buxar-Balia Stretch of River Ganga, India

摘要

Indian Major Carp (IMC) comprising of Labeo rohita (Hamilton, 1822), Labeo catla (Hamilton, 1822), Cirrhinus mrigala (Hamilton, 1822) and Labeo calbasu (Hamilton, 1822) are considered among the most valued fishes of river Ganga and therefore selectively targeted by fishers for high economic returns as observed lately through a unique hook and line technique termed as 'Tuka-feka' in Buxar stretch of River Ganga (25deg35min05.75sec N, 83deg58min13.18sec E). The existent fishing gear was undefined in earlier studies on fishing gears of river Ganga (Hornell, 1924; Ahmed, 1956; Jones, 1959 and Saxena, 1964) and hence described explicitly as many such traditional fishing methods are going into oblivion for diverse reasons. Information on 'Tuka-feka' fishery was gathered employing several participatory tools including interviewing, group discussions and on-field observations. Buxar-Balia stretch of Ganga river sustain varied fish species spectrum constituting of carps, featherbacks, catfishes and small indigenous fishes (SIFs). Decadal landing during 1970s (3.07 tonnes), 1980s (49.18 tonnes) and 1990s (13.33 tonnes) indicated notable contribution of Indian Major Carps in the stretch (Anon, 1970-1990). Fishing with 'Tuka-feka' has gained popularity owingto its simple methodology to capture prized IMCs. In local dialects, the term 'Tuka' means the 'Ball shaped bait' while 'feka' implies 'throwing the device by hand'.