Tehri Dam Reservoir Cage Fisheries

The Tehri Dam reservoir, one of Asia's largest, has created a massive freshwater resource supporting an emerging cage aquaculture industry. Local fishing communities and entrepreneurs cultivate Trout in cooler deeper water and Carp species in warmer upper layers using floating cage systems. The Tehri Development Authority and Fisheries Department support cage culture through technical training and credit. Traditional fishing knowledge is being adapted for reservoir conditions, different from the river fishing communities practiced before damming. Cage fisheries provide alternative livelihoods to people displaced by the dam reservoir. Annual production is growing and the Tehri reservoir fish has begun appearing in Dehradun and Rishikesh markets.