Inland Fisheries

4.2.12 Reasons for low yield from reservoirs

• Arbitrary stocking and no sound stock management norms lead to low productivity
• The management of small reservoirs is on the basis of culture-based fisheries.However, proper attention is not paid for stocking density, size at stocking,size at harvesting, levels of fishing mortality and natural mortality andharvesting schedule which hold the key for obtaining the optimum yield.
• Congregation of Indian major carps above the spill ways for breeding, which results in heavy escapement of brood and fingerlings. This poses a serious problem for building up stocks of desirable fishes in such reservoirs. Development of fisheries insuch reservoirs require suitable screening of the spill way and the canal mouth. In addition, there should be an annual cropping policy of stocking in September – October and harvesting by June end.