Ban on fishing in Pong Lake till Aug 15

Dharamsala, June 17

Fish lovers will have to wait for two months as a blanket ban has been imposed on fishing in Pong Lake till August 15 in view of the breeding season.

Fishermen can be seen these days carrying their boats to safer places out of the lake after gathering their nets.

Vivek Sharma, assistant director of Fisheries at Pong Dam, while talking to The Tribune, said, “The ban has been imposed in all open water reservoirs of the state.”

According to him, 17 teams and a flying squad will now provide a 24-hour surveillance during the ban period. If any person or fisherman is caught doing illegal fishing, he will be fined, his licence cancelled and he will be imprisoned for six months.

He further said that as per the Fisheries Act, there would be a complete ban on the sale or import of fish as well. The department has imposed the ban as it is difficult to identify the fish after it is cooked.

Apart from this, a power motor boat, equipped with latest equipment, will also keep a vigil on illegal fishing in the reservoir. The patrolling teams will have their makeshift camps surrounding the Pong reservoir area. At present, more than 3,000 fishermen work in 15 fisheries cooperative societies spread all around the lake. The fishermen get a relief allowance during the ban period.

Sprawling over 24,000 hectares, the man-made water body, which is 42-km long and 19-km broad, is providing livelihood to nearly 3,000 fishermen.

As per official information, the Pong reservoir is producing Singhara fish species which is around 60 per cent of the total fish production. It fetches the highest price among all species in the market. Apart from this, species of Rahu, Katla, Common Carpe and Mahasheer are produced here.