Spatio-temporal change analysis of three floodplain wetlands of eastern India in the context of climatic anomaly for sustainable fisheries management

Floodplain wetlands are ecologically sensitive habitats and considered the most threatened systems due to anthropogenic factors and climatic variability. These wetlands are important fisheries resources in India and provide nutritional and livelihood security to rural mass besides ecological services. The country has witnessed ecological degradation, encroachment and shrinkage of the floodplain wetlands due to several factors resulting in a more devastating impact on these ecosystems. There is a lack of time series data to assess the impacts of climate change on floodplain wetlands fisheries. In this context, an attempt was made for spatio-temporal change analysis of three floodplain wetlands of Eastern India using GIS tools. The surveyed wetlands have reduced in size by 37.20–57.68% coupled with a reduction in minimum and maximum depth reported from these wetlands. The analysis of data (1985–2018) indicated a considerable change in climate with an average temperature (1.9 °C) and rainfall anomaly (− 698.1 mm) in the study area during the year 2018. The Pearson correlation revealed a varying relationship between fish production and climatic parameters which were non-significant except in Mathura wetland in which the fish production was negatively correlated (p < 0.05) to temperature. The issues, threats and suggestions for conservation and sustainable management of the wetlands have also been highlighted.