Artificial breeding - a ray of hope to conserve Mahseer fish

The Madhya Pradesh forest department is hopeful that artificial breeding of 'Mahseer' fish in the Narmada river will help in conserving the endangered species, an official said today.
Due to continuous fishing, the Mahseer, popularly known as the 'tiger of fresh water' and having the distinction of being the state fish of MP, is facing the threat of extinction, he said.
The conservation of Mahseer is important as its presence is considered a benchmark for the cleanliness of water in the Narmada river, the official said.
The forest department, in collaboration with the state biodiversity board, has achieved a breakthrough in artificial breeding of Narmada Mahseer (also popular as 'tor-tor' among locals) following efforts over the past couple of years, an official of the public relations department said.

"Repeated attempts in this direction failed for last two-three years. This year, the experiment was carried out by scientists in the flowing water of Narmada's tributary - the Choral river," he said.
"For the first time, about 20 per cent of the eggs (of Mahseer fish) have fertilised. This project would be beneficial to the fishermen in a big way," the official said.
The breeding of around 150 baby fish of Mahseer has been done. The forest department will further try to increase the number of the species with the help of these baby fish," he added.