State receives the SKOCH Gold Award for success in captive breeding

The Himachal Pradesh Fisheries Department has been awarded the SKOCH Gold Award – 2025 for its efforts in conserving the critically endangered Golden Mahseer through a successful captive breeding program.

The Golden Mahseer is a freshwater fish and is considered an indicator of aquatic biodiversity. It is the state fish of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh, and Jammu and Kashmir.

The Golden Mahseer, once found in large numbers, has seen a severe decline in its population due to habitat degradation caused by hydroelectric projects, overfishing, and pollution.

Established in 2016, the Machhyal Mahseer Farm had an annual production of fish hatchlings limited to approximately 5,000 for several years. In 2023, with the aim of improving the situation, a targeted revival campaign was launched in collaboration with ICAR–Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute (CIFRI), Bhimtal—India’s only cold-water fisheries research institute.

The improvements implemented under this initiative proved decisive. As a result, the Machhyal farm recorded a record production of 87,000 Golden Mahseer hatchlings during 2024–25, which was approximately 17 times higher than the previous production.

The Golden Mahseer is an extremely popular species among fishermen and plays a vital role in maintaining aquatic balance.