Himachal's Fisheries Department gets prestigious SKOCH Gold Award-2025

Shimla, Sep 22 (PTI) The Fisheries Department of Himachal Pradesh has been honoured with the prestigious SKOCH Gold Award-2025 for its exemplary and pioneering efforts in the conservation of critically endangered Golden Mahseer through a captive breeding programme, officials said on Monday.

The award was presented on September 20, 2025 at a ceremony held at the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi.

The award was received on behalf of the department by Vivek Chandel, Director-cum-Warden of Fisheries, Himachal Pradesh, and Som Nath, Assistant Director (Fisheries).

Congratulating the department for the award, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said that the SKOCH Gold Award was a testimony to the state government's unwavering commitment and innovative approach toward biodiversity conservation.

He added that SKOCH Group is known for recognising impactful governance projects and this national recognition further validates the effectiveness of the integrated conservation strategy.

"The award underlines the government's significant initiatives for the protection of Golden Mahaseer which was a freshwater fish species that symbolizes the aquatic biodiversity of the state. It is also the state fish of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir," he said.

Over the past decades, the population of Golden Mahseer in Himachal Pradesh has declined alarmingly due to threats of habitat degradation caused by hydropower projects, overfishing, and pollution from human activities.

To address this, the chief minister said, the Fisheries Department launched a major scientifically supported captive breeding programme. The Machhyal Mahseer Farm, established in 2016, had long struggled, with annual fingerling production never exceeding 5,000.

"In 2023, a special campaign was launched to increase its production in collaboration with the ICAR -- Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute (CIFRI), Bhimtal, Uttarakhand, the only cold-water fisheries research institute in the country.

"Following this, specialised training sessions on Golden Mahseer breeding techniques, nutritional diets, and disease control were organized" he said.

In the financial year 2024-25, the department's farm at Machhyal produced 87,000 Golden Mahseer fingerlings. Additionally, a major stocking campaign was launched, during which 34,500 fingerlings were released into natural habitats. Of these, 20,000 were stocked in Pong Reservoir and 14,500 in Gobind Sagar Reservoir, said the CM. PTI CORR HVA