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The Durrell Trust for Conservation Biology
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CV
Fisheries, livelihoods and conservation in the forest streams of Western Ghats Hotspot, India Supervisors: Dr. Alison Rosser and Dr. Douglas MacMillan
Freshwater fish are intricately linked to the livelihoods of local communities in the Western Ghats providing a range of benefits including a source of food for the local population and income for the fishers and market traders in the region. Freshwater fisheries in this region are however under increasing pressure due to dwindling populations of important harvested species coupled with poor governance and institutional support.
My research is aimed at improving understanding of freshwater fish species, corresponding small scale fisheries and their role in the livelihood portfolio of local communities in the Western Ghats, with an aim to develop sustainable management guidelines.
Funding Rufford Foundation
Links Selected Publications Krishnakumar K, Ali APH, Pereira B & Raghavan R (2011). Unregulated aquaculture and invasive alien species: a case study of the African Catfish Clarias gariepinus in Vembanad Lake (Ramsar Wetland), Kerala, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 3, 1737-1744. Raghavana, R, Anvar, A, Dahanukard, N and Rosser, A (2011). Is the Deccan Mahseer, Tor khudree (Sykes, 1839) (Pisces:Cyprinidae) fishery in the Western Ghats Hotspot sustainable? A participatory approach to stock assessment. Fisheries Research, 110, 29–38. Krishnakumar, R. Raghavan, G. Prasad, A. Bijukumar, M. Sekharan, B. Pereira & A. Ali. (2009). When pets become pests: exotic aquarium fishes and biological invasions in Kerala, India Current Science 97, 474-476 R. Raghavan, G. Prasad, A. Ali, B. Pereira & L. Sujarittanonta 2009 Damsel in distress – the tale of Miss Kerala, Puntius denisonii (Day) an endemic and endangered cyprinid of Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot, India Aquatic Conservation – Marine and Freshwater ecosystems 19, 67-74 R. Raghavan, G. Prasad, A. Ali & B. Pereira 2008 Fish fauna of River Chalakudy part of Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot (South India) – patterns of distribution, threats and conservation needs Biodiversity and Conservation 17, 3119- 3131 R. Raghavan, G. Prasad, A. Ali & B. Pereira 2008 Exotic fishes in a global biodiversity hotspot- a case study from River Chalakudy, part of Western Ghats, Kerala, India Biological Invasion 10, 37-40.
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The streams and rivers of the Kerala region of the Western Ghats are an ‘exceptional hotspot of freshwater biodiversity’; WWF recognizes it as one of its ‘discrete freshwater ecoregions’, as well as one of its ‘global 200’ ecoregions. Forty Four rivers (41 west flowing and 3 east flowing) and its associated streams drain the state of Kerala – known as the God’s own country, harbouring more than 230 primary and secondary freshwater fish species, many of which are endemic and threatened. 
The growing concerns over actual and/or potential depletion of many species, and the social and economic hardships that will fall upon people in such resource-dependent communities makes conservation and management of small scale artisanal fisheries an urgent priority. However, the data-sparse nature of such fisheries has meant that their management is an ultimate challenge. 