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The mahseers are endangered endemic gamefish. Those who know what it means will realise this means alarm bells for the future of our sport and a creature we love above all others. Below is our take on what to do and what we have done.
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In a country where human beings are easily overlooked, wildlife doesn't really stand much of a chance. Unfortunately for fish, being under water means being out of sight and hence, out of mind. While something as large as a tusker or tiger cannot go unnoticed in current day 'Parks and Preservation' scenarios, many giant sized mahseer, rarities by themselves, are casually dynamited, netted, speared or poisoned. Statistics are available elsewhere, this page is about the loss of an adventurous way of life and the last wildlife contact sport left in the country.

Why mahseer need protection

In the State of Uttarakhand, the well-being of rivers and riverine resources is in the hands of the Forest Department. This alone is enough to explain why the fish and fishing are in such a terrible condition. The FD has no information of fish habits, natural history and conservation. It has no academic courses to verse staff in the ways of rivers and fishery management. This is not all that big a problem- the biggest problem is that since they have no projections of quantities, method of managing fisheries or even a patrolling programme, the places they govern are in a state of slow decimation by poachers of all kinds. There is no seeding programme to stock fish in rivers (because the FD itself does not have any hatcheries). There is no way to check removal of fish even after granting permits (because there's no staff to patrol rivers). We've never come across a single FD staffer while fishing at some of the best places. The permits themselves belong to the 1930's and older. The biggest tragedy is that in the year 2006, the FD has issued permits dating back to the Fish and Wildlife act of 1938. By this law, the locals are given rights to net the fish (In the '30's, it used to be cast-nets. Now the locals use gill nets. The permit does not define the difference.). No permits at any location insist on releasing fish and in Uttaranchal, there are very few places that actually grant permits.

The Fisheries Department of the state has a few stillwaters under it's belt and the sole job of the FsD is to breed and stock these stillwaters with table fish and lease it to contractors who net it three times a season to recover lease costs. Mahseer have been bred 'experimentally' since the 1920s with absolutely no thought to stocking rivers in a sustainable way. Other causes of decline in mahseer numbers are:

1. Population loss: The idea of releasing fish does not seem to exist in mahseer country. Very few anglers actually release fish and the locals never. Add poaching by dynamite, poison and unrelenting netting of breeders and the picture becomes clearer, but still unbelievable.

2. Habitat loss: The rivers are shrinking. The headwater areas are denuded of tree cover leading to excessive erosion leading to silting of breeding grounds. In a heavy silt year, this means total loss of that year's eggs. And that's a lot of eggs and future fish. Dams across rivers stop mahseer from ascending to the breeding grounds for further propagation.

3. Low fecundity: The mahseer is not a very fecund breeder compared to other endemic species. It lays approx. 3,000 -6,000 eggs per kilo of body weight. Compare this with the rohu's 2,50,000 eggs per kilo of body weight.

4. Female deaths: Large mahseer (10 kilo plus fish) are female, as has been proven by many an ichthyologist in the course of research. Locals and anglers alike seem to be unaware of this and kill large fish. This has led to erosion of good genetic stock. Big female fish means it's progeny will also be big if given a chance.

5. Lack of awareness: There has never been a mahseer awareness programme defining the uniqueness, rarity and importance of fish in any region. The locals who live along mahseer rivers are not aware of the status of mahseer and there's a lot of fishing by non-angling methods (poison, dynamite, nets) leading to loss of population.

The cream of Golden Mahseer fishing exists now only in Uttaranchal. The Himachal Golden seems to have stunted in size and numbers because of the great dams across the Beas (still a magic river in a certain part) and the Sutlej. Uttaranchal, with it's religious pilgrimages and sanctuaries in the Ganga has some monsters, but then for the angler looking for wild fish in wild places will have to travel further East, to the Kumaon border, although this area is now under threat of imminent tourist influx and road building.

To aid sportfishing and preservation of fish stocks for anglers, part of proceeds from our fishing programmes goes towards employing watchers and beat guards who patrol certain sections of rivers we have the good fortune of guiding for. Our good relations with local villagers are as much in exchange for employment as guides as for protecting certain pools for angling purposes. Our guests do much in meeting villagers and encouraging protection. At this stage, we request contributions be made to the village welfare groups looking after patches of rivers.

What we have done- our Pancheshwar Project:
One could either sit at home and moan about the declining state of mahseer fishing or go out and do something about it. Our belief in the recuperative powers of the mahseer and the fertility of Himalayan rivers led us to revive a dead river- the Saryu, through our understanding of ground realities and our model of conservation. To see the difference, one needs to step outside the boundaries of our control in Pancheshwar area and see the fish, or lack thereof.

In 2001 we identified the Pancheshwar Area section of the Sarju river between Champawat and Pithoragarh districts as the model fishery without the fish outside of the breeding season.
Pancheshwar finds first mention in 1923 in Skene Dhu's book 'The Mighty Mahseer'. The account details a hike from Rameshwar (16kms upriver) to Pancheshwar with all the fish caught and all the fish lost, which reads like an account of the anglers paradise. In 2002, we identified Pancheshwar area as a model of mahseer ruination. Prior to our arrival at Pancheshwar, the Saryu was dynamited mercilessly, to the tune of upto thirty blasts per pool per day in certain pools. The blasting season lasted as soon as the water started clearing in the Saryu till the onset of the rains. This made sure the returning breeders evacuated the most beautiful stretches immediately. This in a river considered by elite anglers as a paradise for fishing in the wild. As anglers who wish to maintain the sport and sanctity of such a place, we embarked on a long project of reviving the Saryu for sportfishing. As anglers, naturalists and guides who exist on the benevolence of Nature, we felt we had to give before we took. For the first three years of our operations, we took no fishing parties to the place and spent effort, time, money in regenerating safety and security for the fish in the Saryu. We also recruited locals and poachers thus spreading employment for fish in the water and not the shop.

Our conservation efforts revolve around the principles of a sustainable fishery that has fish for anglers and locals alike. Since mahseer are not artificially stocked, no one has the right to remove them for sale in markets. Culling mahseer is justifiable only for personal consumption (by personal capture, not purchase) within realistic limits. Culling is not justifiable at all by sporting anglers.

Knowing it is impossible for the remote area villager to stop killing and eating fish, we embarked on a mission of distributing hooks and line for removing fish as against dynamite, poison or gillnets. We also made strong recommendations to remove only one fish between 2 and 5 kgs for personal consumption instead of dropping dynamite, taking a couple of fish and letting the rest go to waste. This provides the realistic limit on how much fish a family can eat. Larger fish are recommended for release so they can breed further quantities of fish. Larger fish also attract anglers which is where the locals benefit from mahseer in the river.

The local people supported the cause of being able to take fish without wasting anything and began anti-dynamite patrols with us. So far, we've recovered and destroyed around 180 sticks of dynamite and around 200 gillnets. After three years, we have old men coming up to us and telling us they have never seen, let alone eat so much fish from the river. That's happiness for us. The other mixed happiness is that old time anglers who had given up the idea of fishing Pancheshwar because of the poaching have started returning. Problem is, these people still kill fish as they used to and their servants sell them.

With mild administrative aid and goodwill from the Forest Department, we have managed to prevent netting and dynamiting in a 5km stretch of the Saryu just before the confluence. The locals have been made aware of the status of golden mahseer and have cooperated fully in apprehending poachers and putting a stop to dynamiting. Sanctuary pools have been established and large fish are seen, caught and released routinely. Things have improved down the Kali, too. The fish hang around the confluence area longer than they have been doing for the past many years. Just ask the habitual old time anglers who still land up and manage to remove fish- they've been called 'white collar poachers'- basically anglers who land up only when the fishing is good, catch, kill, salt or sell the fish they catch. These people have started fishing the places more frequently just because the fishing has improved. We consider it a sort of an unwanted compliment. When poachers start landing up at your beat, it can mean only one thing- the game is good. This without any government support or funding. We consider it a matter of changing from poachers to patrons.

We understand that conservation is an activity where both humans and wildlife can prosper. Geared towards that is the ecotourism end of our activities. We're encouraging 'Home Stay' in our parts. Local families set aside a room and basic facilities for guests for a nominal amount and get to live with them. A person from the family also acts as guide for the duration of the guest's stay. This is planned to improve tourist-local relations and improve cultural goodwill. This will also help the families in generating income in an area which has very little.

Our practices ensure that there are good fish in the beats and the locals gainfully employed as gillies, guides and camp staff who also freelance for other anglers. As part of our local involvement policy we have trained locals in several places the techniques of proper fish handling for release and are proud to declare absolutely no casualties yet. These people are some of the finest gillies and gainfully employed in a state which doesn't even have proper angling laws yet. As fish numbers increase, it is intended for the locals to start the licensing and maintaining fishing sanctuaries and regulations. Funds generated will go directly to the village welfare committee. Other social help and training programmes geared towards crafts are in the pipeline.

Part of our revival project is to tag fish for studying migration patterns at various times of the year so we know where the fish go and which areas need to be protected at what time of the year.

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