INDIANANGLER

Was browsing the net and came across this....

First ever international gathering on Mahseer, “King of the Rivers”

he International Symposium on “Mahseer 2006: Biology, Culture and Conservation” was held on 29th and 30th March in Kuala Lumpur. The brought together 114 participants, which included fishery administrators, researchers and community groups interested in the conservation of mahseer species, from 10 countries. Over 40 papers pertaining to taxonomy, phylogeny, biology, aquaculture and conservation of mahseer species were presented.

More to read at:
http://www.enaca.org/modules/news/artic ... toryid=755


Cheers,
Alexis

Hope the same is done in India. A bigger challange would be to make the fisheries authorities wake up and make a time bound road map for mahseer conservation and improve the sport fishing potential of rivers.

Will go thru the site and papers - didn't know that Mahaseer was in 11 asian countries!

Regards

Viraj

[quote="junglebum"]Ashok / Alexis,


Here's a nice one: A scientist from Bangalore came up to me after the presentation, thanking me for highlighting his "Karnataka mahseer". He also admitted that he's never been to the Cauvery!!!
Hi JB
Where has this guy been living ? MG Road ?


Btw, I believe theres a new conservation issue in Cauvery now. On my last trip last Nov, we found a TILAPIA fish in the river. Actually, a young local scientist found it (at Temple Pool, Bhimeshwari) and showed it to me cos he couldn't identify it (!!!).

Our hunch was that this fish could have been washed down from some fish pond/tank into the Cauvery from the recent devastating flood.

I'm praying against hope that there's only one tilapia in the river. This species breed like rabbits and devour fish eggs, among others.

Too late JB! I have caught Tilapia at Mekadatu in the 80's and used them as bait for Masheer, and then this year i caught a few of them at Crocodile rocks while fishing for carp. You can see them with their small ones swimming very close to the banks.
Regards
Owen

This is the largest I have caught to date. No idea about weight though.

[img][img]http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a6/RHB65/DSCN1400-1.jpg[/img][/img]

Yesterday was the second time that we came to within a few feet of a croc (at the same spot, Akshay) whilst being in water upto our knees. They have been known to move off but yesterday's croc returned to the same spot whilst we were still there. Or atleast that's what Prathap said, I couldn't see it.

Rustam

Hey Rustam,


Yesterday was the second time that we came to within a few feet of a croc (at the same spot, Akshay) whilst being in water upto our knees.

Coming to think of it now, that croc was probably sitting there till we got too close. I had one 6ft away from me while I was swimming in the water to retrive a snagged plug. Small bugger but still was scary.
The last time we were out that croc was about 10feet away when he decided to take off and we were almost waist deep in the water.

Regards,
Mighty Marlin.

That's a nice fish Rustam, who took the picture this time?

Akshay, your memory is playing tricks. The water level has risen since the two of us were there but it wasn't waist high. I have the camera pouch on my belt, so I have to be extra careful about where I go or slipping..... It certainly was somewhere between knee and waist height, depending on where you stood.

The first time I did not even know there was a croc next to where Prathap was playing the murral and must have been 20 ft behind you chaps. However, this time we were within 7 feet of the blighter when he pushed off and came back.

The accepted wisdom is that murral will not be found near crocs but the above seems to disprove this theory. We also caught a murral at Forbes Sagar (near the one room ruin) just a few feet from another croc.

Rustam

Thanks a Ton JB, I have requested Bops to mail it to me..

[quote="Rustam Bana"]This is the largest I have caught to date. No idea about weight though.

Tasty morsel huh Rustam
Don't tell me you came across the crocs in the channel ?
They are usually on left side of the lake when looking down from the cottage.
Catch any carp this time ??
How was the colour of the water ?
Regards
Owen

Hi folks,

I'm not sure which address JB sent the file to since I haven't received it. JB please mail it to info at indianangler.com

I will upload it here for our members.

Bops

WHAT!!! Does one also turn blind at 50?
Just smart Dude

Put up a whole ruddy post on the subject and you missed it?
Normally never happens. Your posts are almost always good for a laugh

Perhaps you need to keep a powerful magnifying glass next to the monitor. [/quote]
I'll think about that one

Meanwhile where the hell is this post of yours

Hijack ?

Just trying to get some respect into this thread before it goes in the gutters..

Thats how I used to eat them, with a bit of pepper or Chilli powder..

Owen/Bobby - You are truly tilapia connoiseurs..

If I remember correctly a Talapia was perhaps the first fish I ever caught with a hook

Hey OB - Please send the presentation to my mail ID

HI OB, thanks for the response. It's the very reason I posted the proposal to this forum; to get anglers' feelings on the issue. I myself am not 100% sure of pushing this idea further to JLR. I was only triggered by Mr Kumar's enquiry, and he's now somewhere else.

There is a mahseer sanctuary here in Malaysia (red mahseer) which operates an eco-fishing camp upstream. They have been tagging the mahseer by using micro-chip inserted just below the dorsal. I was at first shocked that they extract a scale first before inserting the chip. But I was assured by the scientist that it's okay. The scale will grow back. But what about infection? He said the fish is put in a medical bath first before the tagging operation.


Of course this approach is impractical at the Cauvery. I dont have the stats, but PDA tags have been used for freshwater scaled fishes without much harm.

The scientist just called me the other day. They have run out of those chips. Asked me whether I could donate my PDA tags to them. I said of course, provided I get a free fishig trip, hehe!

I think the concern for some anglers may be whether we would like to catch a fish to find an 'alien' object sticking out at the dorsal area, saying "somebody else had caught me first, sorry!'

If anglers can tolerate that, then tagging would be helpful. Understanding the patterns of mahseer behaviour would help decide on which parts of the river to be closed at which time of year.

Say, it may be a good idea to set up a group that helps conserve the Cauvery, especially the mahseer (dont forget the murrel and pink carp too; they are unique species). Call it "Friends Of The Cauvery (FOC!)' or something. The group can contribute in the form of education to fellow anglers, help set up conservation policies etc. It's a good way of giving something back to the river and its great fishes.

let me share some thing that happened in Malaysia. One guy mentioned a similar idea in the Mal Fishing Net forum. It ended up with the formation of Kelah Action Group of Malaysia (KAGUM). It's a small group of volunteers that work with govt and NGO groups conserving malaysian rivers. We do river clean-ups, propagate info on fish conservation, get called by organisations for advise etc. Our latest activity is organising a series of monthly talks on fish, fishing and river conservation stuff. (The kelah (Malaysian Rd Mahseer) is a symbol of river sportfishes here.).

We just set up a website (still raw though). Check it out at kagum.org.

Cauvery conservation group can be based in Bangalore. I presume many of the Cauvery regulars are based in this 'Silicon City'.

So, waddayathink?

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Hi JB,
was very happy to see your reply.
I have been checking with Pat and he also mentioned the micro chip insertion being employed by conservation groups in the US and Canada.
He was of the opinion that if a group like WASI could show their credentials and project work, the tags would probably be sent to us FOC.

I was just wondering about the system of tracking, and was discussing it on PM with a couple of members on the forum.

1. Would an angler be able to go to JLR office and be told which pool has the biggies today ?
2. The tracking equipment - what would it cost ? Would we be silent observers while someone across the world checks on our fish.
3. The removal of a scale is rather disturbing and the fact that the hygenic conditions on the banks of our rivers may leave a lot to be desired for such an operation, not to mention the skills required and the chemical bath there after. (Wonder sometimes whether some of the boys take time out to bathe at all during a trip)

So although the above method could be an option, maybe your idea will work better.
I volunteer my services, and would like to meet with you when convenient to learn more JB.

I am planning a 10 day trip to the Kaveri in December and we could look into the possibilities of trying out your method in the various stretches we plan to fish.

Very glad to hear that you have been able to trigger conservation ideas in Malaysia. High time anglers all over this country also put their best efforts into conserving and preserving the beautiful waters and fish therein for future generations.

Regards
Owen

Hi JB,
I read the report as soon as it was posted, just had some misconceptions about the micro chip insertion and tracking, but your post clears up the bit about the micro chip tagging. Thanks for the info JB.
Also seeing that the season on the Kaveri begins from November, it would not be a bad idea for those who are interested in getting to see the procedure as we may not have guides along with us in some of the places we plan to fish. Can the equipment be given to me if we are fortunate enough to land some big fish in December, starting Doddamakli ?
Assuming this will have JLR's approval of course.
Regards
Owen

Approval from Fishery Department?! Sure and u want to tag in November! Suggest that you go ahead and do it, but think like a bureaucrat - involve several parties (not persons) like the Cauvery Angling Society (there is'nt one? just form one with 20 members ), somebody from Lonavla/Tata's (they're semi-govt ), some retired angler from the services as Chairman of the Radio Tagging Program of the Cauvery Anglers Association or Society (and REgistered with Govt. is a must) and maybe get the local SDM to inaugurate the first tag..

Fish are fewer and further..happy tagging

Who the heck from the fisheries dept will bother anyway. It's only JLR we will have to get permission from, and that seems to be half done as i understand from JB's mail, that Sundar had suggested it.
Wouldn't want to get suspended just because JLR was not informed.

Owen,
We'll need some kind of a favourable nod from a govt. agency( forest dept. or fisheries dept.) besides JLR.
Tagging fish is the kind of thing that will be misunderstood and blown out of proportion and just because they're ignorant. It should ideally be done with their funding and our cooperation and not the other way around.

Regards,
Mighty Marlin.

OB,

It's Kumar, not Sundar! That may make the difference, since he's not there anymore.

Tagging has no meaning unless all parties understand and commit to the value of it. I feel that, right now, 'parties' would mean;

-JLR who manage the fishery: that means the MD, and Camp Managers
-Any govt body who 'owns' the river or catchment?
-Any NGO who can play an influence factor
-Anglers! And who would represent the Cauvery anglers? I sincerely feel there should be a Cauvery Angling Society. Anglers are the people who really understand the issues, cos they the ones who are are out there in the field

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