Villagers sit on the shore of Indawgyi Lake in northern Myanmar.

A TEAM of researchers from Myanmar’s Department of Fisheries and Hanoi-based Conservation International has finished a survey of fish species in Indawgyi Lake in northern Myanmar.

Indawgyi Lake, which is located in Mohnyin township in the Mohnyin district of Kachin State, is the biggest lake not only in Myanmar but also in Southeast Asia.

The lake sits at 166 metres (546 feet) above sea level and measures 11 kilometres (seven miles) wide by 23 kilometres (14 miles) long for a total area of about 260 square kilometres (100 square miles). It is 55 metres (180 feet) deep its deepest point. Thirteen creeks flow into the lake but only one – Indaw Creek – flows out and into the Ayeyarwady River.

The survey, conducted as part of the Indo-Myanmar Program proposed by Conservation International (CI) earlier this year, was carried out from June 27 to July 7.

The research team included three officials from the Fisheries Resources Conservation Unit under the Research and Development Division of the Department of Fisheries, two scientists and one coordinator from CI, and three observers from Mohnyin Degree College.

The aim of the survey was to collect samples of all the fish species living in the lake and categorise them, record fishing methods and tools used in the lake by locals, collect fisheries data by consulting with local authorities and residents, and observe and record environmental changes around the lake.

“Our goal was to find out the current status of fish species in the lake,” said U Tint Wai, a deputy staff officer at the Department of Fisheries.

However, according to the surveyors’ report the team was only able to record 47 of the estimated 70 fish species that live in the lake.

“Our work was hampered a bit by the rainy-season weather conditions,” said U Tint Wai.

According to the report, about 45,000 people live around the lake, with more than 900 people from seven villages relying on the local fisheries sector. Of these, about 270 rely completely on fishing with the rest living off a combination of fishing and agriculture.

Local fishermen pull their catch from the lake’s common fishing ground from September to March, with the peak fishing season occurring from November to January, the report said.

From 270,000 to 300,000 viss (442,000 to 491,000 kilograms) of fish were caught from the lake in the 2004-2005 fiscal year, according to the report. The team found that locals use a variety of fishing tools but traditional methods are still common.

The Department of Fisheries has banned fishing in the lake during the April to August breeding season except for research purposes. Fishing is also prohibited in a small spawning ground near Indaw Creek between Nyaung Pin and Lone Wont villages.

Trustees at Shwe Myint Zu Pagoda located in the middle of the lake have also banned fishing in a one-mile radius around the shrine.

The team said agriculture in the area had little effect on the lake water.
“Only a few locals used fertilisers and nobody used insecticide in their fields, so there is no effect on the lake water,” U Tint Wai said.

The report also noted a phenomenon that occurs each year anytime between November and January, in which bubbles rise to the surface of the lake in an area about 11 kilometres (seven miles) south of Shwe Myint Zu Pagoda.

The unexplained occurrence – thought by scientists to be caused by chemical or physical changes on the bed of the lake, but referred to by locals as nat say khat in accordance with the belief that supernatural beings are putting medicine in the water – causes the water in the area to turn the colour of mud and results in the death of some fish.

The report has called for tests to be done to determine the chemical makeup of the water during the occurrence to help conserve fish in the lake.

The team also called for plans to conserve the Indostomus paradoxus fish species, which can only be found in Indawgyi Lake and could face extinction if measures are not taken to save it.

The report concluded that the lake was not suffering any adverse effects from gold and jade mining operations in Kachin State. However, it did say that people living in the area might be a source of pollution because they used water directly from the lake as well as from creeks flowing into Indawgyi.
U Tint Wai said more research could be conducted at Indawgyi Lake in the future.

“We can see this as the initial stage of research at the lake. We hope the results can be used to conduct more detailed surveys in the future,” he said.