In a major breakthrough for fish conservation, the Himachal Pradesh Fisheries Department has bred a whopping 87,000 golden mahseer fingerlings in captivity—the first time they’ve hit such a high number. Out of these, 34,500 young fish have already hit the wild waters, with 20,000 released into the Pong Dam reservoir and 14,500 into the Gobind Sagar reservoir.
This success comes from the Machhyal Mahseer Farm, set up back in 2016. Before now, the farm’s yearly output never topped 5,000 fingerlings. Director Vivek Chandel shared the exciting news on Monday, highlighting how this captive breeding program is giving the golden mahseer—a beloved sport fish and tasty food option—a fighting chance.
The golden mahseer, Himachal Pradesh’s state fish along with Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh, and Jammu and Kashmir, has seen its numbers drop sharply over the years. Dams, pollution, overfishing, invasive species, and habitat loss all play a role in the decline. But after stocking these fingerlings, experts at the department believe the population will bounce back strong.
The department’s hard work on saving this critically endangered species earned them the SKOCH Gold Award for 2025. They picked up the honor at a ceremony in New Delhi on September 20.
To ramp things up, the team kicked off a science-backed captive breeding push in 2023, teaming up with the ICAR-Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute in Bhimtal, Uttarakhand—the country’s top spot for cold-water fish research. Chandel and his team visited the institute to spot issues and make fixes, and it paid off big time. This year, the Machhyal farm cranked out those 87,000 fingerlings.
Looking ahead, the state government plans to boost production at a new fish farm in Sunni, Shimla district. This move should ease threats to wild populations and create a steady supply for ongoing revival efforts.
The golden mahseer isn’t just a pretty fish—it’s key to balancing aquatic ecosystems in rivers like the Beas and Sutlej, plus reservoirs such as Pong, Gobind Sagar, and Kol Dam. Anglers love chasing it, too, drawing over 3,700 visitors to Himachal Pradesh in 2024-25 and boosting eco-tourism. On top of that, it’s packed with nutrition and helps fishermen make a living, especially in reservoirs.
With these wins, Chandel expects fingerling production to top 100,000 this year. Overall fish output in the state has grown, too—from 17,026 metric tons in 2022-23 to 19,020 metric tons in 2024-25. Reservoir catches jumped even more, from 549 metric tons to 749 metric tons in the same period.
Native to mountain streams, this long-living fish from the Tor genus thrives in cold waters. The Pong Dam reservoir, about 250 km from Shimla and 190 km from Chandigarh, already hosts a solid golden mahseer population, making it a hotspot for conservation and fishing.
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