Mumbai: The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) and the government's fisheries department conducted a workshop for fishermen based at the Ujani reservoir to improve their income by promoting indigenous fishes like Deccan mahseer, bangana nukta, and rohu (Labeo) species.
This innovative programme is going to bring a 360 degree shift in the fishery practices at the reservoir on the Bhima river in Solapur district, from where tonnes of fish is supplied to Pune, Solapur, Mumbai and other parts of India. The reservoir yields a fish catch worth Rs four to seven crore annually.
BNHS started the wetland eco-restoration programme at the reservoir with the irrigation and fishery department. To bring this massive change in the fishery sector and provide the indigenous fishes to cities, BNHS trained around 120 fishermen as well as bird guides on how to change the practices and earn more by providing the fish to nearby cities.
The two-day workshop was conducted on December 9 and 10. Anurag Mishra, president of the Cipla Foundation which is supporting the conservation effort and Archana Shinde, assistant commissioner, fisheries department, government of Maharashtra, inaugurated the workshop. Dr Unmesh Katwate, senior scientist of BNHS explained the objectives and the benefits for all the stakeholders. Mishra, reaffirmed the commitment of CIPLA Foundation to provide better income to fishermen community and also work towards wetland conservation.
Dr Katwate, who is heading this project stated that, “Ujani is potentially following the path of Bharatpur, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Rajasthan, where the vanishing fish and bird populations led to the collapse of the entire ecological chain and local businesses.”
BNHS has planned several activities of wetland restoration and fisheries development with the support from the CIPLA Foundation. Over the next fifteen years, the focus will be on conserving endangered fish and native plant species, with urgent efforts to eradicate invasive species such as African catfish, suckermouth catfish, and invasive plants like water hyacinth from the reservoir.
BNHS and the fisheries department will soon sign a Memorandum of Understanding to implement mitigation measures to control invasive fish species, including illegally farmed African catfish, and to collaborate on conservation breeding programmes for threatened native fish species of the Bhima River.
BNHS is raising an awareness among the fishermen and traders on importance of indigenous fishes, their importance in the ecosystem, conservation and how to reduce the spread of invasive alien species in both plants and fish through systematic removal, introduction, and ecological management.
“We hope these efforts will help to take Deccan mahseer, bangana nukta, and indigenous Labeo species in large quantity to the market so that city people get this delicacy and good income goes to the fishermen," said BNHS Director Kishor Rithe.
The workshop also discussed the plans to conserve native fish populations, introduction of native fish species from the Venna, Koyna, and Krishna rivers into the Ujani Reservoir. Breeding centres have are also been proposed to get seed or fish larvae for the Deccan Mahseer.
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