The doyen of freshwater fisheries research, the late Prof MS Johal of Panjab University (PU), in his final years lamented the ebbing ardour for area analysis. A piece of the up to date lot of zoology college students shirk the pains of the sphere by taking the simple approach out: “Google fishing”, lab experiments and desktop manipulation of information.

At final week’s ceremony in Chandigarh to award the second Johal Memorial Award to distinguished fisheries scientist Prof BD Joshi, Johal’s colleagues and college students of yore recounted his legendary area work that paved the way in which for worldwide recognition.

A buddy, thinker and information to a legion of scholars who went on to have profitable careers of their very own, Johal instilled self-reliance and nurtured their latent potential. He led from the entrance by wading into streams and turning over rocks to determine the insect diversities that the fish preyed upon. As a younger lecturer in Ganganagar, Johal spent holidays to foray into obscure areas to analysis Rajasthan fishes.

“Johal labored with the Fisheries division on reservoirs. His diligent area research helped us decide the dimensions of web mesh to forestall fishermen from catching small fish but to breed. Our joint efforts resulted within the annual catch rising three-fold. He braved musty rooms and dangerous meals with a affected person smile, saying that ‘when out for analysis nothing is dangerous, every part is nice’,” recalled Dr Kuldeep Sharma, ex-director, fisheries, Himachal Pradesh.

“On our first area journey below Johal to review hill stream ecology, he ordered us to plunge in and catch fish with our arms. We failed, we college students couldn’t catch the agile fish with even a bucket. That was our first lesson: area work could seem simple however it’s not. He then employed native fishermen for 2 days however solely to coach us on nets. After that, college students had been requested to do netting,” recounted Dr YK Rawal, PU’s zoology division head.

Former dean of scholars welfare, GNDU, Amritsar, Dr Anish Dua, landed on the varsity as a younger lecturer within the Nineties and was dissatisfied to seek out no aquatic biology lab. “Johal cheered me up and prompt a substitute: make Harike wetland right into a area lab. I commenced analysis with my college students and our onerous work was rewarded after we compiled an inventory of 61 Harike fish species. That drew worldwide discover. Though Johal inspired area work, Punjab varsities had been simply not assigning sufficient researchers to the unexplored wilderness. That is why it took many years after Independence to find the Indus dolphin within the Beas,” Dua mentioned.

Pawan guru, paani pita

The Guru Granth Sahib and allied scriptures are wealthy in references to ecological issues. The prescient teachings name upon individuals to venerate the air, water, birds, fishes, bushes and so on and defend nature’s endowments for sustainable planetary life. However, symbolism has come to reign because the dominant God. Successive governments have been rocked by desecration of the scriptures (sacrilege) as such acts arouse anti-establishment ire.

The parallel destruction of the ecology—which the deified scriptures had deemed as sacred—finds restricted public resonance. Despite entreaties to the individuals by the venerable Baba Seechewal, desecration of the ecosystem doesn’t make the grade as an election problem. The ingrained lure of the fast buck results in felling of bushes, grabbing of inexperienced lands and mining of river banks. Greed blinds us to the true intentions of the scriptures that we bow our lined heads to in a ritualistic method.

As a logo of our numerous self-destructive methods, ponder upon the destiny suffered by an owl clan within the godforsaken wilderness of Harike, a Ramsar web site. Field researchers resembling Jagdeep Singh (zoology division, Punjabi University, Patiala) noticed unchecked sand mining, agricultural encroachment of floodplains and pollutant poisoning of the Beas/Satluj that deposited toxins/heavy metals in breeding birds and fishes. Amid a myriad of miserable spectacles, Singh would fortunately spot Indian eagle owls on a selected Neem on the Beas.

“However, after I visited the positioning final, I discovered the soil had been eliminated and it had led to loosening of adjoining soil. The Neem received dislodged and it fell within the Beas. The owls had been compelled to flee their favored tree, which that they had occupied for generations. Locals informed me there have been six owls just a few years again however their numbers had declined drastically,” Singh informed this author.

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