Demography and Management of Invasive Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio) From Manasbal Lake Kashmir, India

ABSTRACT The present work was carried out to study the demographic aspects of Cyprinus carpio, an invasive species and an ecological pest capable of universal existence. Data on length–frequency was obtained from the two varieties of C. carpio from the deepest freshwater lake of India, Manasbal Lake, over a time period of 1 year (March 2019–February 2020) and analysed using the FiSAT‐II software. The mean total length was reported to be 18.58 cm for C. carpio var. communis and 19.18 cm for C. carpio var. specularis, with the dominant length groups being 20–21 and 19–20 cm, respectively. The length–weight relationship parameters yielded the equation logTW = (2.56) logTL − 1.30, r = 0.94, for C. carpio var. communis, with a condition factor (K) value of 1.42 ± 0.25, and logTW = (2.53) logTL − 1.26, r = 0.93 for C. carpio var. specularis, with a condition factor (K) value of 1.38 ± 0.20. Different parameters obtained from the von Bertalanffy growth equation included L∞ = 38.85 cm; K = 0.170/year; ø′ = 2.409 and t0 = −0.93 for C. carpio var. communis, and L∞ = 30.45 cm; K = 0.210/year; ø′ = 2.289 and t0 = −0.80 for C. carpio var. specularis. The mortality parameters, including total, natural and fishing mortality, were also estimated for C. carpio var. communis to be Z = 0.08, M = 0.40 and F = −0.32, and for C. carpio var. specularis, to be Z = 0.22, M = 0.49 and F = −0.27, respectively. The exploitation rate (E) estimated for both varieties revealed its very less exploitation, suggesting more efficient methods to explore Manasbal Lake to its full capacity and to determine proper measures needed to be taken to conserve the native fauna.