Context: THE BLUE-FINNED Mahseer, which was on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) red list of endangered species, has now moved to the ‘least concern’ status.

Key highlights

• TATA group is involved in conservation of blue-finned and golden mahseer for 50 years in Lonavala.
• Golden mahseer is still in danger of going extinct.
• About five lakh mahseer are bred at Walvan Hatchery in Lonavala, where group has created an artificial lake for their conservation.

About Blue Finned Mahseer 

• It is a freshwater fish. It is also known as Deccan Mahseer or Tor Khudree.
• It is one of the sub-species of Mahseer.
• IUCN Status: Least Concern (LC)

Features

• It is a silvery-bluish coloured fish with blood-red fins or fins tipped with a bluish tinge.
• Indicator species: Blue finned Mahseer is very sensitive to dissolved oxygen levels, water temperature and sudden climatic changes. It just cannot bear pollution.
• Hence, it acts as an indicator of ecosystem health because its prime requirement is a clean and pure environment.

About Mahseer

• Mahseer is the common name for generaTor. 
• These fishes are found across Vietnam in north and China in south, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, southern Asia, Indian Peninsula, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan. 
• They are commercially important game fish and highly esteemed food fish. They have a high market price and are potential candidate species for aquaculture.

Concerns

• Several larger species of Mahseer have suffered severe declines which are now considered threatened because of pollution, overfishing and habitat loss. 
• Concerns are increasing regarding impacts of unregulated release of artificially bred stock of limited number of species.

Characteristics

• They inhabit both rivers and lakes. Most of species ascend into rapid streams with rocky bottoms for breeding. They are omnivorous. They eat algae, crustaceans, frogs, insects and other fish. They also eat fruits that fall from trees overhead.