Fishes are cold-blooded aquatic vertebrates, which breathe by means of pharyngeal gills, propelling and balancing themselves by means of fins (Jhingran, 1982). At present, nearly 22,000 fish species are known to man. Of these 40 % are inhabitants of fresh and inland waters. A majority of these fishes are found in the tropical waters. For instance, it has been estimated that the river Amazon and its tributaries may together harbour 3000 or more species of fishes. Whereas in India it is estimated that about 2500 fish species are found within which around 930 species are freshwater fishes. The fresh water fishes are distributed amongst approximately 20 orders, 100 families and 300 genera (Daniels, 2000).

The river Sharavathi is one of the west flowing rivers of Karnataka that traverses through the Western Ghats, which is one of the biodiversity hotspots, the catchment of the river has bountiful natural resources as well as enormous potential for hydroelectric power generation. Linganamakki dam has been constructed across the river with the sole purpose of hydroelectric power generation. The river receives many tributaries with Haridravathi near Pattarguppe and Yenne Hole' near Bharangi being the major ones. Along with them, the minor tributaries like Nagodi Hole', Nandi Hole', Mavina Hole', Huruli Hole', and Birer Hole' also join this river. The water from Chakra and Savehaklu reservoirs of Chakra river has been diverted to this reservoir. Thus, the reservoir is the meeting point of all the above river streams and due to this vast fish diversity can be expected. In this context, the present study has been undertaken to ducument fish diversity, yield and suggest appropriate management strategies.

The objectives of the study are to:

(i) Document the fish species and yield of the Linganamakki reservoir.

(ii) Suggest appropriate conservation and management strategies.