*Corresponding author; ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION:

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1 Sengupta, M. and Dalwani, R. (Editors) Proceedings of Taal 2007: The 12th World Lake Conference: New Trends of Reservoir Fishery Management Adopted to Rejuvinate the Reservoir Fishery A Case Study of Purna Fish Co-Operative Society, Sawli of Yeldari Reservoir in Parbhani District of Maharashtra S.D. Niture 1 *, S.P. Chavan 2, V.B. Garad 2 and M.S. Kadam 3 1 Department of Zoology & Fishery Science, Dnyanopasak College, Parbhani , India 2 P.G. Department of Zoology & Fishery Science, Dnyanopasak College, Parbhani 43140, India 3 Department of Zoology,Yeshwant College, Nanded , India *Corresponding author; sanjayniture@rediffmail.com ABSTRACT Parbhani district in Maharashtra State is rich in having fresh water resources. A part of Godavari river system flow through the district. The rivers like Purna, Dudhna, Karpara, Kayadhu and Masoli are the main tributaries of river Godawari. Large, medium and small reservoirs were constructed on these rivers. The rivers and reservoir s capture fishery is the main source of fish in this region. From 1967 to 2006, total 28 fish co-operative societies were established and working on these reservoirs. (District Dairy and Fish Co-operative Office, Parbhani, 2007). There was no uniformity of working pattern among these societies. There is no ideal working system of the fish co-operative societies found except Purna Matsya Vavasayik Sahakari Sanstha Maryadit, Sawli of Yeldari reservoir, Tq. Jintur, Dist. Parbhani of Maharashtra State. Purna Mastya Vavasayik Sahakari Sanstha Maryadit, Sawli is recently emerged in the year 2003 as a new society with some modern trends of management. Selection of an investment company for the stocking of fish fingerlings and prawn Juveniles, use of high speed motor boats for petroling to prevent fish poaching, use of large mesh (8x8 cm) size gill nets and cast nets, smart payment to the fishermen and to the members of the society, upliftment of the fisher community and fisher folk, these points are highlighted in the paper. Keywords: New trends management, Purna Matsya co-op. INTRODUCTION: Reservoir fishery is the main source of income for the fisher community living in Parbhani district of Maharashtra state. At present, the reservoirs in this region are leased to the private parties and to the cooperative societies for the fishing rights. Purna Matsyavawsai Sahakari Sanstha, Sawali of Yeldari reservoir emerged as an active fish co-operative society. The society made an agreement with a private company to stock the fish seed and to purchase the catch. The members of the society and fishermen where largely benefited for there dailywages & overall development of the active members of the society and fishermen and active fishermen was found good as compared to earlier condition. MATERIALS & METHODS : The auther have collected the information about the Purna Matsyavawsai Sahakari Sanstha, Sawali of Yeldari reservoir, by the interviews of the society members, active fishermen and the administrative staff. The information collected about the nets and gears they use, fishing methods, fish collection, preservation & marketing of the catch, past days socio-economics & present days upliftment in all sense of the members & active fishermen of the society. Fieldwork to observe the fishing process was also done by the authors to reach a definite conclusion of the selected study. FISH & FISHERIES Geography Parbhani district is geologically located on latitude 90 o 1 to 20 o 5 North and longitude 75 o 4 to 76 o 4 East. It has 6541 Sq.Km. area. Godavari River System & Reservoirs The river Godavari and its tributaries like Purna, Dudhana, Masoli, Kayadhu and Karpara form main river system flowing through the district. In the district at various places the reservoirs are constructed on these rivers. Yeldari reservoir, Karpara reservoir and Masoli reservoir are the main source of capture fisheries, along with small watersheds, developed in the river basins. Yeldari reservoir It is a large size reservoir having 6272 hector water spread area constructed on the river Purna in It

2 is a earthen dam with masonry spillway in gall portion. It has 10 no. of flood gates. It is situated 55 Km. away from Parbhani town near Taluka Jintur. Some important features of the Yeldari reservoirs are given in table 1. Table 1: Features of Yeldari Reservoir 1. Year of Start Final Completion October Design purpose Hydropower & storage 4. Latitude 19 o 43 0 N 5. Longitude 75 o 45 0 E 6. Village Yeldari 7. Taluka Jintur 8. District Parbhani 9. River Purna 10 Subbasin Purna 11. Basin Godavari 12. Gross catchment area Km Average rainfall 685 to 762 mm 14. Gross Storage (MWL) Mcum. 15. Live Storage Mcum 16. Water spread (FRL) Km MDDL Mcum 18. Total length of dam 4432 Mtr. 19. Earthen Dam 4880 Mtr. 20. Overflow section Mtr. Fish fauna The fish fauna found in Yeldari reservoir of Parbhani district are 29 fish spacies belonging to 20 genera, falling in 4 orders. The fished commonly found in reservoir are Labeo rohita,catla catla, Wallago attu, Mastacembalus armatus, Mistus species and Channa species Fish Co-operative societies in the Parbhani District In Parbhani district there are 28 fish Co-operative societies working on different reservoir. Maharashtra State Public Irrigation Department (PID) has administrative control on these reservoirs for irrigation to agriculture land. PID permits the fish cooperative societies for the fishery activity on these reservoirs under the administrative control of District Fisheries Development Office. The fish co-operative society get the fishing rights of the reservoirs for 5 years on lease through Open Tender system. Purna Matsyavavsai Sahkari Sanstha, Sawali of Yeldari reservoir Purna Matsyavavsai Sahkari Sanstha, Sawali of Yeldari reservoir, was established on 17/3/2003 with Reg. No. PBN/JTR/AGR(O) Photo-2. Total no. of members are 52, total no. of fishermen involved in fishing process other then members of society are In the fishing activity total no. of fisherwomen involved are 700 to 800. There fisherwomen were in the age group years are involved in fish catching, net weaving and repairing. The fishermen and fisherwomen working in Purna Matsyavavsai Sahkari Sanstha, Sawali of Yeldari reservoir are of various caste groups and tribes (Table 2). Table 2: Caste and Tribes involved in fishing process on Yeldari reservoir Sr. Caste / Category Total Numbers of No. Tribe fishermen 1. Baudh SC Banjara OBC Kahar Bhoi ST Zinga Bhoi ST Hatkar ST Matang SC Muslim Open Maratha Open Koli ST Dhangar VJNT Vanjari NT Telang Open New Trends in Working Pattern of the society Purna Matsyavavsai Sahkari Sanstha Maryadit Sawali has taken Yeldari reservoir on lease from July 2005 to June Purna Matsyavavsai Sahkari Sanstha Maryadit Sawali of Yeldari reservoir had made an agreement with an private investor company in this sector. The co-operative society had call the tenders from different traders, private companies, private parties and private agents for fish seed stocking and fish purchasing upto the date 15/12/2005. Out of 6 tenders related to fish seed stocking and fish purchase, the co-operative society had made an agreement with Intellect Agri. Product private company, Andheri East of Mumbai, Maharashtra. According to the agreement company have to stock the fish fingerlings and prawn juveniles and company have to purchase all the capture fishes and prawns. Company has to give Rs. 5 / Kg of fish and prawn as commission to the society. The society agreed to increase the fish production of reservoir by preventing fish and prawn poaching. According to the agreement the company had stocked 3 Crores fingerlings of Catla, Rohu, Mrigal and Cyprinus species and 1 Crore M. rosembergi prawn juveniles. Out of 3 Crore fish fingerlings 60% fingerlings are of Cutla species, whereas Labeo contributes about 20%, Mrigal contributes 5% and Cyprinus species contributes about 15%. Fish fingerlings stocking was done at regular intervals from May to Dec. 2006, whereas Prawn juveniles stocking was done in August and September. 2019

3 Harvest of fish and prawn from the reservoir On Yeldari reservoir there is no closed day for fishing. Fish and prawn harvesting is carried out regularly from January 2007 onwards from August to December 2006 Rs monthly salary was given to 200 active fishermen for not catching young prawns and fishes. Only local fishes and cat fishes harvesting is permitted.. Methods of fishing, collection, packing & Marketing of fishes Fishing license was give to about 1500 fishers for fishing in Yeldari reservoir by the society. These 1500 fishers belongs to villages, which are located around the Yeldari reservoir. Fishing license fees was Rs. 5 / month to each fishermen and fisherwomen and they have to renew the license in every month from the society office. They have to keep the fishing license with themselves during fishing and have to follow the rules of fishing directed by society. Fishing was carried with the thermacool raft commonly called as Nav. Net commonly used for fishing was gillnet of mesh size 8 x 8 cm. Gillnet smaller than 8 x 8 cm mesh size was strictly banned. Generally fish species like Rohu, Catla, Mrigal, Cyprinus more than 1 kg were harvested. Either single fishermen or group of 2 to 3 fishermen are involved in fishing. (Photo 3). Fishermen arrange their gillnets in water in evening between 5 pm - 7 pm and collect the fishes from their gillnets on next day morning between 5am 7 am. Catch of tender was stored in the nylon wire bags with them. After fishing the nets are again spreaded in water for further fish catch at morning between 6 am - 8 am. The fishes trapped in the gillnet are collected between 4 pm 6 pm on the same day and again the gillnets are spreaded for next harvesting. Some fishermen capture the fishes and prawns with the help of cast net through out the day. Different types of cast nets used for fish harvesting commonly called as Phekjaal, Pandyajaal, Purai, Zorly. The most commonly used cast net for prawn and fish harvesting is Phekjaal (Photo 4) of mesh size about 4 x 4 cm. Pandyajaal is other large sized cast nets which mesh size is about 4 x 5 cm. In one attempt the Pandyajaal catch was remarkable about 250 to 300 kg. Zorly is a cast net of mesh size 1 x 1 cm which was traditionally used for fish catch in this reservoir. Purai is the other type small mesh size cast net which was used to catch the fishes like Mastacembalus Armatus, Mystus Sp.and Prawns. Now a days society has banned the use of zorly and purai type of cast net, because by these nets the premature young, small sized fishes may be harvested and it will negatively affect the reservoir fish production. Wadap, Pilna and Kandali are the specially designed net for prawn harvesting. With these nets small and large size prawns were harvested. Common use of wadap, pilna and kandali for prawn harvesting was banned by the society. Daily catch obtained by the fishermen was collected at the 3 fish and prawn collection centres established by the society. where the fishes and prawns are wet and there entries are noted in entry register. The weighing of prawn and fishes was carried between 7 am - 11 am at morning and 4 pm 7 pm at evening at 3 collection centres. Out of 3 collection centres of society first was located at Yeldari Camp, second at village Bamni, 12 km away from Yeldari camp and third at village Khadki, 20 km away from Yeldari camp. Regularly about kg fishes and 400 kg prawns are collected at Yeldari camp collection centre, about kg fishes and kg prawns are collected at Khadki collection centre and about kg fishes and kg prawns are collected at Bamni collection centre. The fish and prawn collection figures are nearly constant from 1 st March 2007 to 30 th Sept The fishes and prawns are packed in Ice and kept in thremacool boxes (Photo 5). The packed prawns are shifted to the cold storage of aqua ice plant, 1 km away from Yeldari camp of the private company. The aqua ice plant has 2 cold storage containers of capacity 20 tones each and in 1 container all needful cold storage machineries are present. The prawns collected and stored in the cold storage were later on transported to Cochin, Calcutta, Chennai and Mumbai market by Railway or by truck transport by private company. Recently, the prawns of Yeldari reservoirs are exported to China. Sometimes, the fishes and prawns are sold to the local private agents from the collection centre by the private company at rate Rs. 31 / kg to Local fishes other than Indian major carps and fish below 1 Kg. Weight. Fishes more than 1 kg. at Rs. 36 / kg and Prawns at Rs. 230 / kg. Prevention of fish and prawn poaching To prevent fish and prawn poaching society had appointed 200 guard on monthly payment Rs. 1500/- each. By this way society had created employment to the fisher community. Out of 200 employees most of the persons appointed as security guard. Society has established some squads, which do their duty by petroling. Peripheral petroling around the Yeldari reservoir is done with the help of Motorcycles, 3 Jeeps and 1 Mahindra Van. Within the reservoir patroling is done by using 2 diesel engine boats and 1 petrol engine boat (Photo 6). Diesel engine boat carry guards at a time and petrol engine boat can carry guards at a time. This security guards and squad units not only watch the reservoir to 2020

4 prevent poaching but also observe the nets of fishermen to check the mesh size during fishing. If these squad members found small mesh size net, then such nets are collected and either stored in society office or burn on the spot. The security guards, squad units, administrative officer and society office persons have wireless instruments for communication. Wages to the Fishermen Wages to the fishermen given by the society (Table 3). Daily atteast fishermens are actively involved in fishing activities. Every fishermen get average 3-5 kg fish atleast or 1-3 kg prawn. Some times a single fishermen get kg fish/day or kg prawns/day. Table 3: Wages to the fishermen given by the society Sr. Fish / Prawn Societies Purchase No. rate 1. Local fishes, fishes 19 Rs. / kg below 1 kg 2. Fish above 1 kg 24 Rs. / kg 3. Prawns (Feb. to June 07) 150 Rs./kg 4. Prawns (July Rs./kg onwards) Socio-economic upliftment of the fisher community Due to fish seed and prawn juvenile heavy stocking in the reservoir for the first time, the fish and prawn production of the reservoir is increased. At least every fishermen gets 3-5 kg fish or 1-2 kg prawn in their daily catch the earning of fishermen is increased. Their living standard is also increased. Number of fishermen have taken 2 wheelers, Mobile, Television, Telephone for the first time in their life. The monthly income of every active fishermen is more than Rs.5000/- month. In the upliftment of socio-economic status of the fisher community society had contributed a lot of society had given 300 thermacol raft freely to the poor active regular fishermen. Society has given 3000 kg nylon net to the poor active fishermen. Society is always helping to the needful fishermen by different ways. Fishermen can carry ½ - 1 kg fish or prawn for consumption freely of his own catch. Most of the fishermen have came back to their villages who were migrated before some years back, reapair and construction of the huts, houses are in progress. Awareness about education among the fishermen is increased due to socio-economic upliftment. Future plans of society and present development : Since, from the establishment the society planned to increase national economy through fish production. One of the future plans of the society is achieved by exporting the prawn in china market. Society also plans to establish fisheries Research Centre and Fishermen Training Centre. Society had planned to start construction of 500 houses to the fishermen from November Society had also planned to increase the fish production upto 200 kg / hector. RECOMMENDATION AND CONCLUSION : 1. The reservoirs more than 5000 hector are necessary to stock 3 Crore fish fingerlings and 1 Crore prawn juveniles in one attempt for best future results of catch. 2. Fishing licence lease owner co-operative society how to collaborate with investment companies for fish seed stocking and purchase of fish catch. 3. Large reservoirs more than hector area when stocked with crores of fish seed and prawn seed. Then the lease owner society or a private party has to guard the reservoir around marginal periphery poaching prevention scods, poaching prevention petroling boats with guards and scod units having well equipped communication devices like wireless and mobile phones for getting maximum benefit from fish harvest. 4. The mesh size of all type of nets should not be less than 8 x 8 cm to prevent the catch of juvenile fishes and prawn. 5. Maximum benefits in the form of wages should be given to the fishermen involved in the process of fishing-purna Matsyavavsai Sahkari Sanstha Maryadit Sawali has given Rs. 24 / kg to the fishes and Rs. 150 / kg to the prawns of the catch. 6. Near the large reservoirs there should be cold storage plant and ice factory to prevent the losses. 7. Chinese hatchery system is necessary to produce the spawn of Indian major carps and exotic carps. Nurseries and rearing ponds are necessary near the large size reservoirs to prevent mortality of fish seed during fish seed transportation. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT : The auther are greatful to administrative officer of Purna Matsyavavsai Sahkari Sanstha Maryadit Sawali for providing the data. REFERENCES : Ahmad, S.H. and A.K. Singh, Present status potentialities and strategies for development of reservoir fisheries in Bihar. Fishing Chimes, 12 (8) :

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