Minister directs to give more impetus to fisheries in Nashik Division.

Where nature’s bounty has enriched Nashik Division in Maharashtra with 33,747 lakes for fishing, and 1,02,787 hectares of water area, so there are abundances in fish production. Maharashtra Fisheries Minister Nitesh Rane on Wednesday has issued guidelines to give more impetus to fisheries in Nashik Division and make efforts to meet the fisheries production target given to the department. While, reviewing the work of Nashik Fisheries Department at the Ministry here, he said that all the districts in Nashik division should make elaborate arrangements in implementing the guidelines for increasing fish production under their jurisdiction.

He also emphasised in removing silts from fishing lakes on footage-on-war basis in coordination with the Irrigation Department, along with initiating punitive measures against those who are fishing illegally in the lakes where fishing contracts have been given. Fish diversity is decreasing day by day due to various man made activities.  Fish diversity is not the wealth but it also has some serious implications on fishery.

The River Darna is one of the important rivers in Nashik district. It is main river of south region of Nashik district which flows from west to east. Waldevi river join to Darna river at Chehadi place then Darna river join to Godavari. Darna river is one of the most important rivers for the capture fishery of the Nashik district.  From fisheries point of view Darna river occupies an important position, apart from being original habitat of most prized carp species like ‘Catla catla’, ‘Labeo rohita’, ‘Labeo calbasu’ and ‘Cirrhinus mrigala’.

Each natural habitat has a variety of species which differ in their relative abundance. No community consists of species of equal abundance. Some species are rare, others are common and still others may be abundant.  Approximately nineteen fishes were reported to be widely available in these regions namely – ‘Gudusia chapra’, ‘Notopterus notopterus’, ‘Aspidoparia morar’, ‘Puntius chrysopterus’, ‘Labeo calbasu’, ‘Labeo fimbriatus’, ‘Labeo rohita’, ‘Labeo angra’, ‘Cirrhinus mrigala’, ‘Catla catla’, ‘Aorichthys seenghala’, ‘Rita rita’, ‘Bagarius bagarius’, ‘Chanda ranga’, ‘Anabas testudineus’, ‘Channa gachua’, ‘Channa punctatus’, ‘Heteropneustes fossilis’, ‘Clarias batrachu’.

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