Golden Jubilee National Seminar on Diversification of Aquaculture Through Locally Available Fish Species Lonavla, Powai Lake in Mumbai, Halali in M.P., Govindsagar in Himachal Pradesh and recently in Dimbhe reservoir Maharashtra through community participation. UMIUM RESERVOIR FISHERIES — ITS PRESENT STATUS AND FUTURE NEED FOR SUSTAINABLE RURAL LIVELIHOODS B.K.Mahapatra' and K. Vinod” ‘Central Institute of Fisheries Education, Sector-V, Salt Lake City, Kolkata- 700 091, *Mandapam Regional Centre of CMFRI, Marine Fisheries, Mandapam-623520, Tamil Nadu. bkmahapatra2007@yahoo.co.in The Umiam reservoir lies in the Khasi Hills of Meghalaya at an altitude of about 900 m above the mean sea level has a total water spread area of approximately 500 ha. This reservoir was formed by damming the river. This ‘man-made lakes’ form one of the prime inland fisheries resources of the state by virtue of their size and production potential. The maximum and minimum reservoir level is at an elevation of 3220 ft and 3150 ft respectively. The total length of the main dam of the reservoir is 640 ft with a maximum height of 238 ft. Commercial fishing is not allowed in this reservoir, although practiced on a small-scale. Besides commercial fishing, subsistence fishing is practiced in some pockets of the reservoir using gears like cast nets, drag nets and traps. Angling has-been the main attraction and about 250 to 300 anglers were found fishing in Umiam reservoir on most of the days. Commercial fishing takes place at three major sites of the reservoir viz., Mawdun, Dongrylla and Umniuh, where the fishes are generally harvested using gill nets and cast nets. The fishes harvested from these sites are sold at Lad Umsaw fish selling centre which is 20 km away from Shillong town on the Guwahati-Shillong Road and in Bara Bazar fish market at Shillong. Some quantities of fishes caught are consumed by the fishers themselves. The common carp, Cyprinus carpio is the predominant species that is sustaining the fishery of the reservoir, due to cold-tolerance and propensity for auto-stocking. An established population of the chocolate mahseer, Organized by CIFE, Kolkata Centre on 27-28 August, 2010 18Golden Jubilee National Seminar on Diversification of Aquaculture Through Locally Available Fish Species Neolissocheilus hexagonolepis is also present in the reservoir, which is a highly priced food fish as well as a favourite fish for the anglers. The fish catch and species composition were studied for a period of two years from June 2003 to May 2005. The common carp, Cyprinus carpio, introduced in Umiam reservoir in early 1970s forms the mainstay of fishery and has been sustaining the livelihood of many people living in the hamlets around the reservoir. Besides common carp, other species, which commonly occurred in the commercial catches, included Channa punctatus, Neolissocheilus hexagonolepis, Clarias batrachus, Clarias garipinus and Chanda nama. There are also many small fish species like Brachydanio rerio, Danio dangila, Garra gotyla, Schistura sikmaeinsis, Lepidocephalus guntea and Badis badis caught in the subsistence fishery. Besides having food value, these small fish species have been found to possess omamental value, particularly for the overseas market. Common carp invariably formed the bulk of the catch during all the months and seasons. The chocolate mahseer, N. hexagonolepis, which is endemic to the region is an important and priced fish species of the reservoir. Studies have indicated that there has been a drastic decline in their catches in the last 15 years. The present study also indicated that the catches of N. hexagonolepis from Umiam reservoir is less. The Department of Fisheries, Govt. of Meghalaya had stocked about 2,50,000 fingerlings of the Indian Major Carps in July 1999, which was found to improve the catches during the years 2000 to 2002. The growth performance of catla, rohu, mrigal and calbasu were promising, However, presently Umiam reservoirs produce only a fraction of their fish production potential, threatening the livelihood security of the fisher communities, who depend on this water bodies for a living. While the main accent of fisheries management in Umiam reservoir centres around fish yield optimisation, emphasis should also be made on the conservation of the natural population of chocolate mahseer. The management strategies can be broadly classified under three categories: Protection of habitat, Fish yield optimization and Conservation of the endangered chocolate mahseer for sustainable livelihood who directly depend on Umium reservoir, Organized by CIFE, Kolkata Centre on 27-28 Aygust, 2010 19