A review on the threatened species of snow trout Schizothorax richardsonii Gray, 1832 (Cypriniformes: Cyprinidae): From the climate change and conservation perspectives

Abstract

Snow trout (Schizothorax richardsonii Gray, 1832) occupies the Himalayan domain from the foothills to 3000 m and inhabits all types of water bodies, like rivers, rivulets, lakes, and reservoirs. It is a rheophilic fish species that can thrive in a wide range of ecological and climatic conditions. Globally snow trout is now a 'threatened' species. Invasion of its natural habitats by exotic trouts, river valley hydropower projects as well as destructive fishing in the Himalayan region have long been attributed to the vulnerability of this species. The intrinsic characteristics of snow trout also make it a weak competitor in the Himalayan rivers. Climate change coupling with above mentioned threats poses a new challenge for Himalayan fish, especially snow trout, as it is confined to the Himalaya. Given these threats, an intense drive for snow trout conservation is urgently required. This contribution is an attempt to find out solution to this fact. In line with the opinions of ecologists and conservationists, we suggest a few measures like setting up free-flowing and undammed rivers as 'fish conservation zones', environmental flow to downstream areas of existing dams, prohibition of stocking of exotic fish species in natural habitats and use of hatcheries for stocking and restocking of snow trout in the rivers for the conservation of the species. Keywords: Climate change, Conservation, Himalaya, Hatcheries, Snow trout, Threats, Vulnerable