PRESENT BIODIVERSITY STATUS OF FRESHWATER LOACHES OF BANGLADESH

An experiment was conducted to study the biodiversity status of freshwater loaches of Bangladesh. Data and fish sample collection were carried out mainly in the Sylhet-Mymensingh basin comprising the two districts namely Sylhet and Mymensingh. Fish samples were also collected from Dinajpur and Thakurgaon districts. The study was based on fish landing centre and fish market visit, on the spot data collection, interview of the fishermen and the fish traders, sample collector and secondary data collection. According to the available literatures, the number of freshwater loaches in Bangladesh is 24. However, during the study, only 16 species under 3 families were found. The highest numbers of loach species (9) were found from the family Cobitidae. Among the collected species, some are used as food fish in Bangladesh and the rest can be considered as ornamental fish. Among the total number of species found during the study, 2 species were considered as threatened based on IUCN (2000) list of threatened fishes of Bangladesh and categorized as endangered (EN). The threatened loach species, Botia dario and Botia lohachata were rare. The non-availability and less availability of some of the species indicate the alarming decline of the biodiversity of loach in the surveyed area and in the country as a whole. With the appropriate evaluation and proper documentation general people, researcher and policy makers would be able to know the valuable loaches of Bangladesh and their present biodiversity status.