v7i1.158

Submitted date: 7 May 2014
Accepted date: 5 January 2015
Published date: 19 January 2015
Pp. 49–52, Pls. 20–21.

Fish die-off in the Attanagalu-Oya River, Sri Lanka: a provisional checklist of icthyofauna

H. Sudasinghe*, P. Suranga & D.M.S.S. Karunarathna
*Corresponding author. E-mail: hsudasinghe@gmail.com

Attanagalu Oya basin is situated between the two major river basins Kelani and Maha Oya in Western province of Sri Lanka and has an extent of 779 km2. It plays a major role in national water supply since it contains four major national water supply and drainage board intakes. This short communication intends to provide a recent report of fish die-off in the Attanagalu Oya and also include provisional checklist of icthyofaunal diversity in the area. The fish faunal data were collected from the catches of fishermen using cast nets, and hooks. In addition, fish in shallow areas were sampled by using small trawl nets and hand nets. Freshwater fish species were identified and classified by using published field guides and recent taxonomic research papers.

Section Editor: S.M. Henkanaththegedara