LAHORE, Sept 3: The Punjab Fisheries department released on Wednesday the seeds of different fish species, including Mahaseer (one of the delicious foods in the world), in natural waters.

Forest and Fisheries Minister Dr Ishfaqur Rahman released 10,000 seeds of Mahaseer, and 15,000 of Rahu, Mori and Silver at Shahpur Dam, Attock.

The minister said the fish species had been facing extinction in the natural waters due to illegal netting, aquatic pollution and other environmental factors. The construction of the embankments on rivers and direct disposal of toxic effluents of industrial units were the main reasons for the less growth of fish, he added.

He said after achieving success in artificial breeding of Mahaseer, Pakistan had taken lead over other South Asian countries like India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan.

The fisheries department director-general, Muhammad Ayub, said the scientists of the department had succeeded in the artificial breeding of Mahaseer and Kalbans in an year. This, he said, was a major breakthrough.

Dr Ayub said the department would release hundreds of thousands of seeds of fish in the Indus, Ravi, Chenab and their tributaries for the growth of the aquatic animal in natural waters in the next phase. The department would also provide fish seeds to other provinces, he added.

The fisheries department had carried out experiments on the artificial breeding of Mahaseer in 2001 in Attock.

Mahaseer, also known as a sport fish, was found in abundance in the Indus river and its tributaries, and partially in the Chenab a decade ago. It’s number has been reduced to few with time. It is a mild water fish also found in hilly areas of 1500-6,000 feet high in natural waters.

Construction of dams, no fish migration, drought and water pollution are said to be the main reasons of Mahaseer’s extinction.

Known for its slow growth, Mahaseer lays only few thousand eggs compared to the several hundreds laid by the other fish like Rahu and Mori. It grows to a maximum of 40kgs.