The biggest carnivorous fish of the Indus basin is facing extinction. Belonging to the catfish family goonch, it is found in the Sutlej and the Beas rivers of the state. It is grayish in colour and can grow up to 200 kg in weight and 5 feet in length. Due to rings of teeth in its mouth, it is also called the fresh water shark.

It preys on smaller fish, shrimps and other aquatic life such as frogs. It breeds just before the rainy season. During this season it moves upstream to lay eggs that flow downstream in the water before hatching in calm waters.

However, due to indiscriminate fishing even during the breeding season and shrinking water in rivers due to the construction of dams, the population of the fresh water shark has gone down drastically.

The sources in the Department of Fisheries said it was now spotted very rarely in rivers. Its number was also limited in the wetlands of the state. Pollution in the rivers might also be affecting its population.

Generally it stays at the bottom of the river, but while hunting it also comes at the top of the water. At this time its fins can be seen above the level of water.

Migrant fishermen here use strong ropes and hooks to trap the goonch fish. It is also anglers’ delight in the upper areas of the Sutlej and the Beas. It is hunted for the large quantity of meat generated from a single piece. However, its meat decays very fast and has to be consumed quickly.

Conservationists are of the opinion that special efforts should be made to rejuvenate the population of the biggest carnivore fish of fresh waters. It’s hunting should be banned totally and its eggs should be introduced in rivers during the flood season. It is vital for the ecology of the Punjab rivers.

The golden mahaseer is another carnivorous fish found in the waters of the Punjab rivers that has been endangered due to indiscriminate poaching in the breeding season and the construction of dams.

In dams constructed in foreign countries fish ladders are constructed to help fish move upstream during the breeding season. However, in India no such provision is being made in the dams.

Fish like the golden mahasheer breeds in fast-flowing streams and its eggs have to remain floating in the water for quite some time to hatch.

However, since they now cannot move upstreams due to the construction of dams their population is endangered.