The trans-Himalayan region covers the countries of the Himalayas, Karakoram and in Hindu Kush and Pamir. Fisheries play an important role in providing food and income to the mountain people. This volume contains papers presented at a meeting, held in July 2001 in Nepal, to review information, experiences and findings related to fish and fisheries in the region, including fish species distribution, fishing intensity, socio-economic conditions and livelihoods of fisher communities, as well as to the impacts of environment degradation, conservation measures and aquaculture technologies on indigenous and exotic cold water fish.

Among the fishes. a remarkably wide range ofbiological adaptations to diverse habitats has evolved. As weIl as living in the conventional habitats of lakes. ponds. rivers. rock pools and the open sea. fish have solved the problems of life in deserts. in the deep sea. in the cold Antarctic. and in warm waters of high alkalinity or of low oxygen. Along with these adaptations. we find the most impressive specializations of morphology. physiology and behaviour. For example we can marvel at the high-speed swimming of the marlins. sailfish and warm-blooded tunas. air breathing in catfish and lungfish. parental care in the mouth-brooding cichlids and viviparity in many sharks and toothcarps. Moreover. fish are of considerable importance of the survival of the human species in the form ofnutritious and delicious food ofnumerous kinds. Rational exploitation and management of our global stocks of fishes must rely upon a detailed and precise insight of their biology. The Chapman and Hall Fish and Fisheries Series aims to present timely volumes reviewing important aspects of fish biology. Most volumes will be of interest to research workers in biology. zoology. ecology and physiology. but an additional aim is for the books to be accessible to a wide spectrum of non specialist readers ranging from undergraduates and postgraduates to those with an interest in industrial and commercial aspects of fish and fisheries.