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Today
the mighty Mahseer still remains a symbolic icon of sport
fishing on the Indian sub continent, and for over a hundred
years now western anglers have made the holy pilgrimage to
India in search of these tackle breaking monsters.
These shy and elusive fish thrive in the highly oxygenated
rivers of the Himalayas and the big rivers of the south,
where specimens of over 120lb have been caught on rod and
line.
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Today
you will find the Mahseer population of north and
south India in a very poor state, and with every
obstacle in their path these fish are slowly becoming
pushed from rivers they have existed in for thousands
of years. The main reasons for ever declining numbers
of mahseer are shocking, with massive sections of
different rivers being poached on a daily basis for
food by fishermen employing variety of highly
dangerous tactics to remove the fish, these include
dynamiting the river and pools, cutting down using the
main overhead power lines to shock the fish as they
swim past, and also using a variety of poisons and
chemicals to kill the fish, and in doing so killing
everything else that comes into contact with such
chemicals. |
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Other
reasons include the building of dams, and Hydro electricity
and energy related projects that use the precious water from
many famous Mahseer rivers to sustain the parched and ever
growing population of the Indian subcontinent.
For
a number of years now he forestry commission in the state of
Uttranchal have undertaken extensive projects to set up
Mahseer sanctuaries on different rivers. These places have
been protected from poaching so the fish in these particular
parts can make a strong comeback, from what was regarded as
a bunch of dead rivers.
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As
you can appreciate it’s a hard project to manage
with such vast areas of river to patrol in some very
remote locations, so it can be difficult to safeguard
the river from poachers and other threats on a daily
basis. One successful programme we have pioneered is
to speak with local communities and educate them in
the ways of the Mahseer and the fragile eco system
they inhabit, by giving this vital information we can
show how these fish can harvested for food, but also
showing how to respect and allow the fish to grow and
thrive will give lifelong benefits to mountain
communities. When
out on the river we also give local fishermen hooks
and spools of line and teach them how to catch single
fish and not disturb the whole shoal, allowing for
quick and safe removal of a medium size fish for the
table.
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The
last couple of years have seen some excellent catches and
studies of these magnificent fish in different rivers and
know conservation areas, so we can physically see the
projects working when we are out on the river, but its hard
work and it needs to keep momentum in order to survive, but
with the great interest generated by fishing for Mahseer it
can be funded and sustained by the catch and release style
of angling and eco tourism holidays that seem to become more
popular each year.
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