Biochemical composition of few commercially important food fishes of river Sutlej in Punjab

River Sutlej is under pronounced pressure of anthropogenic activities and this study was devised to check whether the prevailing environmental conditions of the Sutlej have affected the biochemical composition of the few commercially important food fish species. The study was conducted from February 2018 to June 2019 to evaluate the biochemical composition of fish flesh (Protein, lipids, carbohydrates, ash, and moisture) of commercially important fish species Labeo rohita, Cyprinus carpio, Sperata seenghala, and Wallago attu owing to their high consumer preference. Fish samples were collected from four different designated sites i.e., Ropar Headworks, River Sutlej before confluence of Buddha Nallah at Phillaur, River Sutlej after the confluence of Buddha Nallah at Wallipur Kalan and Harike-Pattan where river Sutlej meets with Beas in plastic zipper bags (in triplicate) at two-monthly intervals. The percent moisture, lipid, protein, ash and carbohydrates ranged from 75.25–81.45, 1.13–2.50, 13.59–19.89, 1.20–1.59 and 1.12–1.15 at Ropar Headworks, River Sutlej before confluence of Buddha Nallah at Phillaur, River Sutlej after the confluence of Buddha Nallah at Wallipur Kalan and Harike-Pattan, respectively. However, protein, lipid, and carbohydrates were lower at River Sutlej after the confluence of Buddha Nallah at Wallipur Kalan as compared to other sites irrespective of fish species and seasons which might be due to the direct discharge of polluted water interfering with normal physiology of fish affecting the biochemical profile.