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Mahseer is the common name used for the genera Tor, Neolissochilus, Naziritor and Parator zonatus in the family Cyprinidae (carps). The name is, however, more often restricted to members of the genus Tor.Sen TK, Jayaram KC, 1982. The Mahseer Fish of India – a Review. Rec. Zoological Survey of India. Misc. Publ. Occasional Paper 39, 38p. The range of these fish is from Vietnam in the east and China in the north, through Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia, and across South Asia including the countries of India, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh within the Indian Peninsula, plus Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Afghanistan.Menon AGK, 1992. Taxonomy of mahseer fishes of the genus Tor Gray with description of a new species from the Deccan. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 89 (2):210–228 They are commercially important game fish, as well as highly esteemed food fish. Mahseer fetch high market price, and are potential candidate species for aquaculture.Ogale, S.N. 2002 Mahseer breeding and conservation and possibilities of commercial culture. The Indian experience. In T. Petr and D.B. Swar (eds.) Cold Water Fisheries in the Trans-Himalayan Countries. FAO Fish. Tech. Pap. 431. Several of the larger species have suffered severe declines, and are now considered threatened due to pollution, habitat loss, overfishing and increasing concern about the impacts of unregulated release of artificially bred stock of a very limited number of species.
The taxonomy of the mahseers is confusing due to the morphological variations they exhibit. In developing strategies for aquaculture and propagation assisted rehabilitation of mahseer species, resolution of taxonomic ambiguities is needed and adherence to IUCN stocking guidelines must be followed.
Mahseers inhabit both rivers and lakes, with some species believed to ascend into rapid streams with rocky bottoms for breeding. Like other types of , they are omnivorous, eating not only algae, , , , and other fish, but also fruits that fall from trees overhead.
The first species from this group were scientifically described by Francis Buchanan-Hamilton in 1822, and first mentioned as an angling challenge by the Oriental Sporting Magazine in 1833, soon becoming a favorite quarry of United Kingdom anglers living in India.Cordington, K. De. B. 1939. Notes on Indian Mahseer. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 46: 336–334
Mahseers in Indonesia possess a multitude of names owing to the multiethnic composition of the country; in Java, they are referred to as ikan dewa; literally God-Fish or Fish of the Gods.
During the later period of the Chalukya dynasty, under the Western Chalukya Empire, King Someshvara III describes fishing in the rivers and seas around his kingdom, which include many areas that are inhabited by the mahseer species Tor remadevii, Tor malabaricus and Tor khudree. The king includes "mahashila", a "large river fish(es) of the scaly type." He then goes on to describe the best methods of Angling for the various fish species to be encountered in his kingdom, including how to prepare baits for each. There is a further description of how to prepare the fish for cooking and eating.
Many of the most detailed descriptions of mahseer begin to appear during the British colonisation of India, in particular, during the British Raj of 1857 to 1947. Many of those stationed in India enjoyed angling for mahseer, which they compared to the thrill of catching a salmon 'back home'
H.S. Thomas also gives a description of south Indian followers of Hinduism equating mahseer with Matsya, one of the incarnations of the god Vishnu and responsible for saving Manu from the flood. This tale is common in many of the classic Hindu texts, with the first reference being in the Shatapatha Brahmana, part of the Vedas body of works dated from 1500 to 400 BCE.
The Mahseer fish as an emblem of the highest honour in royalty is allegedly from Persian culture origin and was adopted by the courts of Oudh and the Paigah family nobles of Hyderabad State, being later passed down to other states of the area.Saad Bin Jung, Subhan and I: My Adventures with the Angling Legend of India. Roli Books, New Delhi 2012
In India, many states have adopted mahseer as their State Fish. Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand all have the golden mahseer, Nagaland has the 'Chocolate mahseer', Neolissochilus hexagonolepis as their State Fish, Odisha has the fish known as 'Mahanadi mahseer', Tor tor as its State Fish. The southern state of Karnataka is considering changing its State Fish from Carnatic carp to the IUCN Red Listed Critically Endangered Tor remadevii.
There have been calls for Tor tambra, the 'Java mahseer' known locally as emperau, to be adopted as the national fish of Malaysia.
Among the best documented areas where fish movements have been used for reasons of improving angling sport, or attempting to augment declining stocks are the Lakes of Kumaon hills. The Kumaon lakes in Uttarakhand, Bhimtal Lake, Nainital Lake, Naukuchiatal and Sattal, were stocked with mahseer in 1858 by Sir H. Ramsey, with stock brought from the rivers Gaula and Sharda River. According to Walker in his 'Angling in the Kumaon Lakes', the Bhimtal stocking was less successful, until a second batch of fish were introduced in 1878.
Dr Raj, Fisheries Development Officer in United Provinces, in his 1945 report on the decline of mahseer stocks in the lakes says:
"From all reports these isolated lakes had hardly any fish in them before the introduction of mahseer."
This is clearly a misunderstanding of the history of mahseer in the lakes, as Walker earlier says:
The inference must be that the introductions of mahseer into the lakes caused the unexpected decline of several native fish stocks, either due to competition, or by direct predation and that the earlier fish stocks were notable.
In common with most areas within the geographic range of mahseers, the factors leading to this situation are mainly anthropogenic distortion of rivers due to the construction of river valley projects, multipurpose dams, shrinking habitat, poaching and other stock exploitation, and widespread introduction of invasive species.Nishikant Gupta & Mark Everard (2019) Non-native fishes in the Indian Himalaya: an emerging concern for freshwater scientists, International Journal of River Basin Management, 17:2, 271–275, DOI: 10.1080/15715124.2017.1411929
In 2017, Mahseer Trust convened a different kind of event, by including representatives to discuss all aspects of both the fish and the river habitat in which they live. This unique conference included sessions aired live on social media, with a final question and answer session reaching 6,000 viewers.
December 2018 saw the First International Conference, in Paro, Bhutan.
Among the many recommendations were increased research into the ecology of wild mahseer and ensuring artificial breeding of mahseer is done under strict control using IUCN guidelines.
IMC2 was held in Chiang Mai, Thailand, in February 2020.
Roundtable workshops on the final day agreed to produce outputs, including papers, white paper proposals and outreach media, in the following areas of concern:
The golden mahseer Tor putitora was previously believed to be the largest member of the group and one of the largest cyprinids; it has been known to reach in length and in weight, although specimens of this size are rarely seen nowadays.
Currently, the largest of the mahseer is Tor remadevii, which is known to grow to in excess of . In 2011, UK angler Ken Loughran landed a fish that was too heavy for the 120lb scales being used. This fish was claimed as a 'World record' at 130lb 10oz, although the weighing process used is in doubt.
In addition to being caught for sport, mahseer are also part of commercial fishing and ornamental or aquarium fish.
Etymology
The Hindi and Kumaoni language name of mahāsir, mahāser, or mahāsaulā is used for a number of fishes of the group. Several sources of the common name mahseer have been suggested: It has been said to be derived from Sanskrit, while others claim it is derived from Indo-Persian, mahi- fish and sher- tiger or "tiger among fish" in Persian language. Alternatively, mahā-śalka, meaning large-scaled, is suggested, as the scales are so large that Francis Buchanan mentions that playing cards were made from them at Dacca. Another theory by Henry Sullivan Thomas suggests mahā-āsya: great mouth.Yule, Henry, Sir. Hobson-Jobson: A glossary of colloquial Anglo-Indian words and phrases, and of kindred terms, etymological, historical, geographical and discursive. New ed. edited by William Crooke, B.A. London: J. Murray, 1903. The name mahasher is commonly used in Urdu, Punjabi language, and Kashmiri languages in Pakistan for this fish and is said to be made up of two local words: maha = big and sher = lion, as it ascends in the hilly rivers and streams of Himalaya courageously. Sadhale and Nene translate the Sanskrit word mahashila, as used in some texts On fish in Manasollasa (c. 1131 AD) N Sadhale, YL Nene – Asian Agri-Hist, 2005 – asianagrihistory.org as "stone-like", interpreting that to mean a powerful fish.
Species
Sen and Jayaram restrict the term mahseer to members of the genus Tor. However, the species of genus Neolissochilus and the genera Naziritor and Parator are also called mahseers due to their large-sized scales and other similarities.
Scientists now try to use the terms 'true mahseer' for species within Tor, and 'lesser mahseers' for species within Neolissochilus, Naziritor and Parator.
Genus Tor
The genus Tor includes:
Genus Neolissochilus
The genus Neolissochilus includes:
Genus Naziritor
The genus Naziritor includes:
Genus Parator
The genus Parator includes: monotypy
Historical references
Researchers working at sites from the Harappan era or Indus Valley Civilisation, found collections of pottery decorated with fish motifs as well as fish bones left in midden pits. Hora Fish paintings of the third millennium BC from Nal (Baluchistan) and their zoogeographical significance
/ref> that this is the first known instance of mahseer being 'revered' or singled out from other fish species as 'God's fish'.
/ref> said "the mahseer shows more sport for its size than a salmon." They also produced guidebooks and penned letters to sporting journals such as The Field and Fishing Gazette.
In heraldry (and other official representations)
Mahseer was an important symbol in the heraldry of certain Muslim-ruled former princely states of the Subcontinent such as Baoni State, Bhopal State, Kurwai State and Rampur State. Dost Mohammad Khan's son Yar Mohammad received from Nizam-ul-Mulk the insignia of the Maha Muratib (the dignity of the Fish). The insignia became part of the Bhopal State's coat of arms.
Conservation issues for mahseer
Translocation movements of mahseer within India have been happening since the 1850s, at least. During this period, the integrity and identity of species was poorly understood, which may have caused unintentional issues of Hybridisation between species or competition from Invasive species.
In Himachal Pradesh, Tor putitora is depleting at a fast rate from the state even though it was categorised as an endangered species by the National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources as early as 1992.
Intentional stocking of mahseers in the trans-Himalayan region have been taking place for several years. It has been reported that the Teesta River in Sikkim and West Bengal has been stocked with hundreds of thousands of golden mahseer every year since at least 2014 in a drive to promote angling in the region. That the fish stocks continue to decline suggests that the policy needs to be reviewed and more efforts devoted to improving habitat as the first priority.
Revision of all mahseer species
In May 2019, Mahseer Trust and collaborators published a major revision paper. This paper includes the latest IUCN Red Listing status and validity of 16 species of the Tor genus. Following this publication, fresh impetus into understanding the ecology of wild populations and establishing more secure species identities will allow coherent conservation programmes to be enacted, and fish currently listed Data Deficient to be accorded with relevant threat status.
Conferences
Over several decades, concerned organisations have arranged conferences to debate issues around mahseer conservation. Among the early events was the Kuala Lumpur Conference of 2005, and in 2014, WWF-India convened a forum in Delhi. Both of these events looked at many issues specific to mahseer, and typical outputs included measures to investigate greater understanding of mahseer ecology.
Other sources
External links
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