New state fish for Sikkim - Copper Mahseer

 

The Sikkim government has declared 'Copper Mahseer' locally named 'Katley' as the State fish, an official of the Fisheries department said.

The official said the State government has declared Neolissochilus hexagonolepis commonly known as Copper Mahseer and locally named as 'Katley' as a State fish to highlight the importance of the fish and to give emphasis to its conservation measures.

In Sikkim, Katley is found in varied altitudes covering entire state predominantly confined in Teesta and Rangit rivers and their tributaries. In the year 1992, ICAR-National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources (ICAR-NBFGR), Lucknow had categorized Katley fish as endangered species. Later on, in the year 2014 the fish was also categorized as endangered by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), said Additional Director of the Directorate of Fisheries, C. S. Rai.