Local ecological knowledge (LEK) can offer insights into fisheries management by describing long‐term changes that are difficult to unravel in data‐poor river‐floodplain fisheries. LEK is derived from complex interactions between fishers’ observations of environmental change and their institutional capacities to manage fisheries. Hence, it is important to understand where and how LEK and formal scientific studies on fish species’ decline could complement each other. In this paper, the causes of decline of 58 fish and two shrimp taxa were identified from LEK data (1999–2019) obtained from river–floodplain fisheries of the Gangetic plains (Bihar, India). Qualitative analyses of LEK were used to generate species‐specific hypotheses and historical insights on their declines. Destructive fishing, overfishing and the Farakka barrage were cited by fishers as the major causes of declines. Potential reasons for these perceptions were explored in relation to fishers’ experiences of conflicts in the region over fishing rights and access.

中文翻译：

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通过印度比哈尔邦东部恒河渔民的当地生态知识确定鱼类数量减少的潜在原因

当地生态知识 (LEK) 可以通过描述在数据贫乏的河流泛滥平原渔业中难以解开的长期变化来提供对渔业管理的见解。LEK 源自渔民对环境变化的观察与其管理渔业的机构能力之间复杂的相互作用。因此，重要的是要了解 LEK 和关于鱼类物种减少的正式科学研究可以在何处以及如何相互补充。在本文中，从恒河平原（印度比哈尔邦）河流泛滥平原渔业获得的 LEK 数据（1999-2019 年）确定了 58 条鱼和两种虾类群减少的原因。LEK 的定性分析被用于生成特定物种的假设和对其下降的历史见解。破坏性捕鱼，过度捕捞和 Farakka 拦河坝被渔民称为下降的主要原因。与渔民在该地区有关捕鱼权和准入的冲突的经历探讨了这些看法的潜在原因。