Catla (Labeo catla; ) also known as the major South Asian carp, is an economically important South Asian freshwater fish in the carp family Cyprinidae. It is native to rivers and lakes in northern India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan, but has also been introduced elsewhere in South Asia and is commonly farmed.
In Nepal and neighbouring regions of India, up to Odisha, it is called bhakura.
Catla is a fish with large and broad head, a large protruding lower jaw, and upturned mouth. It has large, greyish scales on its dorsal side with a whitish belly. It reaches up to in length and in weight. This species has often been confused with the giant barb (Catlocarpio siamensis) of south-east Asia as the two taxa bear an extraordinary resemblance to each other, especially in their very large heads.]]
The catla is one of the most important aquacultured freshwater species in South Asia.
It is grown in polyculture ponds with other carp-like fish, particularly with the roho labeo (Labeo rohita) and mrigal carp. The reported production numbers have increased sharply during the 2000s, and were in 2012 about 2.8 million tonnes per year.