Inland Fisheries

4.2.9 Fisheries of important reservoirs

Stanley Reservoir (Mettur dam, Tamilnadu)

Mettur dam is situated across the river Cauvery. It is one of the largest reservoirs with a water spread area of 15,346 ha and capacity of 2,646 million m³.

Fish and fisheries

Indigenous ichthyofauna of the river comprises Acrossocheilus hexagonolepis, Puntius carnaticus, P. dubius, Tor putitora, Labeo kontius, L. fimbriatus, Cirrhinus cirrhosa, C. reba, Aorichthys aor, A. seenghala, Pangasius pangasius, Silonia silundia and Wallago attu. This is the first reservoir (15,346 ha) to be developed scientifically for fishery development. The reservoir came into existence in 1934. The fish catch was 660 t/yr, with dominance of major carps, recorded in 1951-52. But this yield was not sustained later and the catch decreased from 400 t/yr (1984-85) to 110 yr/ha (1991-92). Three downstream barrages on Cauvery, viz. the Lower anaicut, the Great anaicut and the Upper anaicut restrict the upstream migration of the anadromous fish, Tenualosa ilisha and hence after the construction of Mettur dam this species disappeared. Apart from this species, Puntius spp, Labeo kuntius and C. cirrhosa also disappeared.Thus Mettur lost its glory due to lapses in management.

Fishing gears

The gear commonly used is the gill net. The floating gillnets are called Rangoon nets.