Status of Fisheries of Upper Wardha Reservoir, Maharashtra, India

Abstract

One of India's prospective growth engines has been highlighted as reservoir fishing. The current study documented the fish diversity and state of fisheries in the Upper Wardha reservoir since literature on effective governance, institutional structure, and sustainable management practices of Indian reservoirs are scarce. In the Upper Wardha reservoir, the Indian major carps, catfishes, snakeheads, tilapia, and spiny eels dominated the fisheries. Indian major carps and catfish are the most common species at Upper Wardha reservoir. During the study period, annual fish production of the reservoir was 3,78,675 kg. The most common craft used are 12ft, 13ft, and 14ft boats built of wood and iron, and numbers of fibre boats were limited. The "Gill net" is one of the important fishing gears employed in the reservoir. The fishermen co-operative society in possession of fishing rights at the reservoir has been formed in the year 2008. The society has issued fishing licenses to all its members to prevent poaching of fish from the reservoir. It was evident from the study that to supplement fish output, the rapid attention towards the development of fisheries in this reservoir, on a scientific and sustainable manner, is needed.