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City angles ?tiger? to fish tourism!
THE NATIONAL Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources (NBFGR) is trying to crack code to save Mahasheer ? the endangered tiger among fish. Both ? for ecology and tourism promotion.
THE NATIONAL Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources (NBFGR) is trying to crack code to save Mahasheer — the endangered tiger among fish. Both — for ecology and tourism promotion.
Mahasheer is a fish. It gives thrills to many the way tigers used to give as a game. Just the way tiger turned endangered, this sporting fish has turned endangered. And it’s Lucknow that is playing the most important role in Save Mahasheer campaign.
Saving Mahasheer for ecology understandable, as whichever water body has this fish, the water body is always clean—as the fish is omnivorous and feeds on decaying flora and fauna materials. However, tourism promotion through fish sounds odd. But Himalayan and Uttaranchal regions it’s not odd. Many foreigners come to these areas for angling.
But, what’s a sporting fish? “It is the fish that is not easy to angle for. And even if it’s angled, the fish does not give up easily and struggles a lot. This makes a fish a sporting fish. And Mahasheer is the second best after Salmon in giving anglers a thrill and challenge,” said Dr WS Lakra, Director, NBFGR.
“NBFGR has the national mandate on saving Mahasheer,” said Lakra.
It is the indiscriminate killing of fish for food purposes that is spelling doom for it.
And in many cases development and construction activities using dynamites near a water body lead to mass killing of this fish. “We have been carrying out awareness campaign asking people not to do poisoning of a whole water body to catch fish for one meal,” said Lakra.
“Mahasheer is a fresh water fish. This cold-water fish grows to over 30 to 40 kg and even more. Still we have managed to rear it in captivity.
And we are working on getting success in breeding it in captive conditions. If we manage to do that the fish will no longer be endangered, as then we will be able to breed it here, and then do ‘ranching’. Ranching means transferring the small fry to some water body,” said Lakra.
The institute already has a success in breeding couple of other kind of fish in captive conditions here.
Angling in itself is not a threat to the fish as in all the Mahasheer angling sanctuaries; anglers have to release the fish back in the water after the sport. While angling has great tourism boosting potential as it attracts a lot of foreigners.
NBFGR is the only institute of its kind in entire Indian sub-continent that works on fish genetic resources. It is the only place that has live fish gene bank.
