Shimla, June 7 (IANS) Fish farmers in Himachal Pradesh have supplied 2.5 lakh eyed ova and 8.5 lakh rainbow trout fry to another Himalayan state of Uttarakhand in 2025-26, showcasing the former’s growing expertise in quality fish seed production.

Eyed ova means a stage in developing eggs when the embryo shows eyes as dark spots.

Improved fish varieties like Amur carp, AHR Jayanti and Amrit Katla, which offer 20-25 per cent higher growth and fecundity, are also being developed for distribution among farmers, the state government said on Sunday.

Under state’s first Mahseer Conservation Programme, more than 40,000 fingerlings of the endangered Golden Mahseer have been released into the Pong reservoir, Gobind Sagar reservoir, Pandoh dam and the Beas river, an initiative that earned the state Fisheries Department the SKOCH Gold Award of 2025.

The state produced 60,799.66 metric tons of fish worth Rs 972.46 crore from January 2023 to March 2026.

The annual fish production increased from 17,721.64 metric tons in 2023-24 to 19,019.83 metric tons in 2024-25 and to 20,005.97 metric tons in 2025-26.

The consistent growth highlights the increasing contribution of the fisheries sector to the state’s economy while creating better livelihood opportunities for thousands of fishermen and fish farmers across the state, the state government said.

Reservoir fisheries continue to provide sustainable livelihoods to thousands of families.

A total of 18,649 fishermen received full-time self-employment opportunities in major reservoirs.

During this period, fishermen harvested 2,246.26 metric tons of fish valued at Rs 34.53 crore, with annual catches rising from 566.03 metric tons in 2023-24 to 748.76 metric tons in 2024-25 and 818.02 metric tons in 2025-26.

Under the Mukhya Mantri Carp Matsya Palan Yojana, launched in 2024-25, all beneficiary categories are being provided a uniform subsidy of 80 per cent.

Subsidies of Rs 146 lakh were disbursed in 2024-25, while Rs 48.57 lakh was released in 2025-26 for the construction of 4.8963 hectares of fish ponds, encouraging greater participation in fish farming and boosting rural incomes.

The state government has reduced the royalty rate from 15 to 7.5 per cent in 2025-26 and further to just one per cent in 2026-27. This decision will directly benefit more than 6,000 reservoir fishermen by increasing their earnings and strengthening their livelihoods, the state government added.

–IANS

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