Published Paper Details:

Abstract : Mettur dam reservoir and its water resources dependent livelihoods face multiple challenges. The Mettur Dam, Stanley reservoir remains one of the largest reservoirs in south India and the oldest in Tamil Nadu. Physical limits of reservoir is 85 km long and 8 km wide encompassing a river banks of over 290 km.The study aims at understand the livelihood patterns of fishermen around the Mettur Dam Reservoir, a tributary of river Cauvery located in Mettur Taluk, Salem Districts, Tamilnadu , Peninsular in India. The study focuses the fisheries in Mettur dam source of livelihood, house hold surveys, current status and future possibilities besides trying to identify the key issues and constraints the fisheries development. Fisheries provides food and income for rural communities of people dependant on it. This study investigates the dependent Fisherman of 56 villages and their livelihood practices and fisheries change over in the last decade and its alternative income and food generating strategies. Dams tend to be constructed to enhance socio-economic development activities. A fish seed farm was introduced in 1928 fish carps such as Rohu, catla, Mrigal and calbasu established in farm continues to supply fingerlings for release into the Stanley reservoir. In Mettur fishing is done by licensed and the catches are sold in agreed rates exclusively to the marketing Co operative which disposes of the fish to highest bidders. In other remaining reservoirs, fishing is directly controlled by the Department and has an introduced fish breeding centre to produce necessary stocking material and quick-growing carps.