Alligator gar fish is typically found in North America and some regions of India, such as the backwaters of Kerala and the upper lake in Bhopal. It threatens Dal Lake’s native species because it is a carnivore and predator fish.
Scientists and officials are alarmed by the discovery of a carnivorous Alligator Gar fish in Kashmir’s famous Dal Lake because its existence poses a serious threat to native fish species.
In the renowned lake, a ray-finned euryhaline fish with an alligator-like mouth was discovered while the lake was being deseeded.
This fish, an alligator gar, is often found in North America and select regions of India, including the upper lake in Bhopal and the backwaters of Kerala. Being a carnivore and a predatory fish, it threatens Dal Lake’s natural species, according to Dr. Shafeeqa Peer, a scientist with the Lake Conservation and Management Authority (LCMA). Peers expressed concern over how this fish got into Kashmir’s water supply system.
What will happen to our local fish species? It has been outlawed in several regions because it thrives on other little fish, such as Bhopal. We have not yet encountered this kind of creature here, and it threatens other species, she continued.
Peer stated that in order to search for any additional Alligator Gar fish in the lake, LCMA has now partnered with the Department of Fisheries and Fisheries division of Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST).
To determine if there is only one fish if it happened accidentally, or if someone has performed pranks, we will conduct a major search. There are many unanswered questions, particularly in terms of ecology and biodiversity, Peer noted.
of this time, two Alligator Gar fish have been caught, according to Attaullah Khan, senior project officer of the fisheries department.
These fish are native to America, but aquarium keepers find a way to capture them for their tanks and then release them into nearby bodies of water when they outgrow them, according to Khan.
Nothing to worry about, according to the officer, as every precaution would be made to protect the water bodies.
“We are taking custody of the fish for a study in collaboration with the Fisheries department of SKUAST, and accordingly, we will take necessary measures,” Khan stated.
He claimed that any invasive fish species that pose a threat to local fish fauna are prohibited by the Biological Diversity Act of 2002.
This fish is a carnivore, an apex predator, and has a strong predatory disposition. It can kill any obstacles that stand in its way, including fish. The local fish fauna of any place suffers whenever a predatory fish species is introduced; the same is true for fish fauna in Kashmir, he continued.
Khan suggested that more of these fish might exist. As of right now, he continued, we cannot declare that they have been accepted in Kashmir’s natural water bodies because we have never encountered such fish before.