The Wildlife Society of Odisha (WSO) has demanded a ban on fishing of fresh water fishes in the rivers and natural lakes of the State during the breeding season. WSO secretary Biswajit Mohanty stated that the State has already imposed a ban on fishing in the sea from April 15 to May 31. But this is not at all sufficient to protect the population of fresh water fishes. He, moreover, added that in the recent past, the State has lost a large number of fresh water fishes. So, to safeguard the life of the fresh water fishes like Hilsa, Rohi and many more, it is necessary to prohibit the fishing during the breeding season.
"For the last ten years, we had been protesting against the unregulated fishing and demanding a ban during the breeding season.
The migratory fishes like Hilsa, which travel long distances through the Mahanadi, Brahmani, Baitarani and Subarnarekha during their breeding season, are now at the threshold of extinction due to unregulated fishing. Even the mullets (khainga) which migrate to the sea for spawning are also becoming rare. The delicious Hilsa fish has been now a rare fish in the State due to rampant catching of baby fish and gravid fish during breeding period by the fishermen and other adverse reasons. One of the main reasons for the decaying of the Hilsa population is due to the abundant use of mosquito-gill net by the fishermen. By using the mosquito net, even the small in size Hilsa gets killed. Hilsa’s disappearance has major financial implications for the fishermen," said Mohanty.
Hilsa’s peculiar habitat makes it impossible to breed it artificially through aquaculture, unlike other fish. The adult Hilsa swims several kilometers upstream to freshwater from the sea for spawning and returns to saline water after that. The eggs hatch in freshwater and the sub-adult Hilsa, flows back downstream into the sea, a process that takes a few months. The migratory routes that the Hilsa are now taking in its annual sojourn is full of danger, as Hilsa has to come through the dams ,bridges and sluice gates for their smooth migration. The Hilsa always prefers to swim against the tidal movement during the breeding season. But the dams on the main river and its tributaries become hindrance on the path of Hilsa, said Mohanty.
He suggested that the State Government should impose a two month long ban from June 15 to August 15. It would do wonders in safeguarding and increasing the population of the fresh water fishes in the rivers as they are the critical ground for breeding.
However, Assistant Director (fishing), Jajpur S Dash said, "The fishery department has imposed fishing ban in the sea during the breeding period. We have not decided to impose any ban in river fishing during the breeding period."