Population Genetics of Economically Important Fish Species of Uttar Pradesh, India

Abstract

Population genetics provides a powerful framework for understanding the evolutionary stability, adaptive potential and long-term sustainability of commercially important fish species. In Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous inland fisheries state, riverine systems such as the Ganga, Gomti, Yamuna, Rapti and Ghaghara support millions of livelihoods through capture fisheries and seed resources for aquaculture. Economically valuable species including Labeo rohita, Catla catla, Cirrhinus mrigala, Wallago attu and Clarias batrachus dominate harvests. However, escalating pressures from overfishing, dam construction, river pollution, habitat fragmentation and hatchery-based mass stocking have increasingly altered the genetic architecture of natural populations. This paper synthesizes population genetic investigations conducted in and around Uttar Pradesh up to 2024 using molecular markers such as microsatellites, RAPD and mitochondrial DNA. The analysis reveals declining allelic richness, disrupted population structuring, bottleneck signatures and rising genetic homogenization due to artificial seed introgression. These trends threaten the long-term productivity, disease resistance and climate resilience of native stocks. The study emphasizes the urgent need for river-specific genetic monitoring, broodstock conservation programs and genetically informed fisheries governance.