Reservoir fisheries of Orissa State, southern India

Abstract

Orissa State has about 256000 ha of reservoir waters. At present, about 197000 ha of 1442 reservoirs are suitable for fish production. These reservoirs, constructed primarily for water storage, irrigation, flood control and for generating electricity include three large reservoirs, accounting for 119400 ha; and six medium-sized reservoirs, ranging from 1094 to 3500 ha each. The remainder are small, 7 to 900 ha each. In the future, the reservoir area is expected to increase due to construction of new dams for irrigation. Reservoir fisheries development is still in its infancy and has not yet reserved adequate attention. The reservoirs support mainly small-scale fisheries and are rich in their diversity of fish species.