Development of design criteria of the water regulatory for floodplain fisheries management in Jamalpur area

Abstract

The importance of fresh water fish in our socio-economic regime has recently drawn the attention of the policy makers of the country. Resource planners and managers have to adapt a framework for action with due consideration to fish and fisheries along with rice production in the floodplains, keeping pace with the national goals of attaining food security, maintaining economic growth and sustainable ecosystem, and ensuring social well being. Migration is an important biological feature of many fish species, but it has been adversely affected by flood control measures, which caused reduced water extent and connectivity. In order to permit fish migration, it is necessary to maintain conditions that favour migrants to reach their spawning grounds. Hence the hydraulic structures must be designed such that fish can pass through without incurring damage to them. In order to reduce the conflict of resource utilization, this research study aims to promote more efficient use/allocation of land and water for agriculture and fisheries in floodplain water management with flood control measures. A conceptual framework has been developed with the goal of "sustainable land and water utilization" for floodplain water resources management during the monsoon. Two objectives were considered in the framework: the appropriate hydraulic structure design and the balance flow regulation through fish friendly structures to reduce management (fish and rice) conflict in the floodplains. A Spatial Decision Support System (SDSS) has been placed on the top of the floodplain water resources management model. The model has two components - (i) Data Viewer Module; and (ii) Decision Support Module. The Decision support module has again two components: (a) decision on design parameters (location, exit velocity and sill level); and (b) decision on the alternatives of water level (maximum allowable). The results from the model demonstrate the alternative locations of the fish friendly structures and compute the score for each DSIs with the weightage given by the managers on the policy guidelines. Similarly, the model shows the range of water level that could be regulated based on tradeoff between fish and rice production. The study demonstrates the successful implementation of the conceptual framework into the SDSS-FWRM model in the Jamalpur area. This SDSS-FWRM can be used by the water resources managers and planners as an operational and planning tool. The study also identifies some research arena for further studies.