COLLECTION

AND
PRESERVATION OF FISHES

NEENU. M. G
I M.Sc.
Ad.No:AQB2018/04
Dept. Of Aquatic Biology
& Fisheries
 INTRODUCTION
 Taxonomy deals with the collection of individual organisms, their
classification, identification, proper preservation, publication, etc.
 The most important tool for taxonomic studies is the collection of
materials for study.
 Specimens collected from the fundamental basis for work is the basic
step of any taxonomic studies.
 Another important duty of a taxonomist is the preservation of
collected materials he/she studies.
 Careful and correct preservation procedures are important for getting
good results of collected specimens.
 COLLECTION
 It is the method of catching fish by various means.
 Collection or catching of fish is called Fishing.
 The equipments used in fishing are called as Fishing Units.
 Fishing units are also called as Gears.
 It include different types of nets, hooks, traps, etc.
 Fishing is depend upon type of fishes, nature of the water body and
weather.
 On the basis of use of gears, fishing are of many types.
1. Fish Screens:
 The screen are set to surrounded a shallow tidal area at
the time of high floods.
 When the flood water recedes the fish are left behind
in the muddy pool and are collected.
 Screen are also set to mark off shallow areas of river.
 By using this method we can collect fishes like Carps,
Catfish, Murrells etc.
2.Fish Traps:
 Various types of traps are used to catch the fish which
are allowed and prevent from escaping of fish.
 It is also called as Cover-pot or Basket trap.
 It is commonly used in muddy water .
 Catch fishes like Channa, Clarias etc.
3.Hooks and Line Fishinng:
 This method is used to capture all type of fishes and also
applicable in rivers, seas, ponds, lakes, pools etc.
 The lines may be set vertically in the water column or
horizontally along the bottom.
 The size of the fish and the species caught is determined
by hook size and the type of bait used.
 Line fishing may be of Drop lining, Hand lining, Long
lining.
4.Net Fishing:
 It is the commercial method of fishing.
 They are the meshes usually formed by knotting a
relatively thin thread.
  Nets are typically long, narrow and flat, weighed at the
bottom edge and supported at the top edge by floats.
 The nets are of many types such as Dip net or Lift net,
Cast net, Purse net, Drag net, Shore seines or Rampani
net and Trawl net.

Trawl Net
Cast Net Drag Net

Purse Net Shore Seines or Rampani Net

Dip Net or Lift Net
5.Electrical Fishing:
 It is a new technique developed by using of low voltage
electric current.
 The fish always swim towards the positive pole of
electric current and electrode with increasing potential.
 The advantage of this method is that even the large size
of fishes which escape being caught by taking shelter
under stones, rocks etc. can be easily caught
6. Bag Net:
 This net is used to collect fishes in shallow waters.
 It is like a butterfly net.
 It built more strongly.
 It has a long handle and thick meshed net.
7.Dammimg:
 This is usually done in mountainous regions.
 A small portion of a stream is dammed and the water is
diverted.
 The channel below the dam dries up and different hill
stream fishes can be picked up from underneath the stones.

8.Poisoning:
 It is commonly used in streams.
 Rotenone is the active and lethal agent in fish poisons.
 1 part of rotenone in 20 million parts of water is needed to
kill the fish.
 Proper care should be taken to avoid indiscriminate killing.
 
 PRESERVATION:
 Preservation methods maintain the quality of fish for a
longer period of time.
 All fish must be killed before the fixation and
preservation.
 The live fish should be dipped in a 5-7% formaldehyde
solution.
 This helps to fix and preserve the small fishes within 2
or 3 days.
 But larger fishes need more time for preservation than
smaller fishes.
 The fishes with more than 75mm size provide a split or
cut in the belly with a knife to enable the entry of
formalin to the body cavity easily.
 The soft bodied large fishes are injected with the
formalin for the easy penetration to the body cavity.
 Fixation is normally done in three ways.
1.Formalin:
 Formalin or Ethyl alcohol is commonly used
preservative for specimens and it is available in the
liquid form.
 Good fixative.
 But it is not good for permanent preservation. Because
acid content in the formalin dissolves lime from the
bones and makes the specimen flabby.
 Also the fumes evolved from the formalin irritate the
eyes of the person who study the specimens.
2.Paraformaldehyde:

 It is in a powder form and can be used to make

formalin solution.
 A mixture of 1 part paraformaldehyde, 4 parts of
anhydrous sodium carbonate and a small amount of
Alconox (wetting agent) can be added to 20g powder
mixture of 400ml of distilled water to produce 10%
buffered formalin solution.
 
 3.Alcohol:
 Ethanol and Isopropanol are commonly used to fix and
preserve fish specimens.
 For the permanent preservation of fishes in museum or
any other places, the specimen is first fix in formalin and
then to alcohol.
 During transferring, it is better to dehydrate the
specimens with 30%, 50%, and 70% ethyl alcohol.
 The large specimens are preserved by applying arsenical
soap or common salt in the inner side.
 
 CONCLUSION:
 Collection of fishes is very important for taxonomic
studies.
 Though it is essential it has some bad effects. It
adversely affects and destroys the seabed including sea
grasses, coral reefs, rock gardens where fishes hide
from predators, spawning ground etc.
 Modern fishing techniques make competition with
traditional methods.
 It catches unwanted fishes and valuable marine species
such as turtles, marine mammals, marine birds etc. are
thrown away as unwanted materials.
 Sometimes illegal fishing practices occur in deep sea.
It affects local fishing communities, tourism and sport
fishing.
 Overfishing gear is non-selective and discarded a lots
of sea fish.
 Likewise preservation is also an important aspect
which helps for taxonomic studies as well as future
reference.
 REFERENCE:
 Joshi, K.K. and Sreekumar, K.M. (2015). Basics of Sample
Collection, Preservation and Species Identification Of Finfish.
Marine Biodiversity Division, Central Marine Fisheries Research
Institute, Kochi.
http://eprints.cmfri.org.in/10422/1/KK_JOSHI_1.pdf
 
 Kapoor, V.C. (2008). Theory and Practice of Animal Taxonomy.
Oxford and IBH Publishing CO.PVT.LTD, New Delhi, 258pp
 
 Zoological Survey of India. (1990). Collection and Preservation
of Animals. The Director, Zoological Survey of India, Calcutta,
246pp.
 
 Narendran, T.C. (2006). An Introduction to Taxonomy.
AICOPTAX-Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata, 80pp