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Bhandara: The Fishery Capital of Vidarbha and Maharashtra

Bhandara: The Fishery Capital of Vidarbha and Maharashtra
Bhandara: The Fishery Capital of Vidarbha and Maharashtra

In eastern Maharashtra’s Vidarbha region lies Bhandara, a district often called the state’s inland fishery capital for its prolific freshwater fisheries.


At dawn, its countless lakes and ponds come alive with fishermen launching dugout canoes, echoing a tradition that has sustained local communities for generations. Bhandara’s landscape is uniquely dotted with thousands of man-made tanks, a feature that a century ago earned it the nickname “Lake District of India”.


These water bodies have been the backbone of the district’s fishing economy, providing livelihoods and nutrition across villages.


From colonial-era records noting over 12,000 irrigation tanks in 1901 to modern-day fish farms, Bhandara’s identity is inseparable from its rich aquatic resources and the people who depend on them.


A Legacy of Lakes and Traditional Fisheries


In Bhandara’s history, water and fisheries are deeply rooted in community enterprise. From the 17th century onward, the indigenous Kohli (Malguzar) community constructed thousands of small lakes, locally called tanks, to harvest rainwater for irrigation and fish culture.


By 1901, the district’s gazetteer recorded roughly 12,000 tanks across Bhandara, a testament to the region’s ingenious traditional water management.

These tanks functioned as communal resources managed by Malguzars who maintained them and shared fishing rights with local fishermen. After Independence, the government took ownership of the tanks in 1960, but fishing rights were granted back to the original fishing communities under a cooperative system. This marked the birth of numerous fisheries cooperative societies, giving local fisherfolk lease access to the tanks.


Each cooperative typically covered a cluster of villages and water bodies, allowing traditional fishing castes like the Dhivars to manage the fisheries and share profits collectively. This institutional change was intended to democratise access to resources that had long been under feudal control.


Bhandara’s water resources are immense, with roughly 28,000 hectares of ponds, lakes and reservoirs spread over about 14,000 sites, according to late-1970s records. Large irrigation reservoirs built in recent decades further expanded the district’s fishing grounds. As a result, Bhandara’s fish production has climbed dramatically.


In 2015–16, annual fish output here was estimated at about 12,048 metric tonnes, making the district one of Maharashtra’s top inland fish producers. The wider Vidarbha region, with its abundance of water bodies, contributes nearly half of the state’s freshwater fish supply.


Bhandara’s fishermen catch a variety of freshwater species, including catfish, snakeheads and local carp known by names like tambir, kolshi and shivda. In many tanks, Indian major carps such as rohu and catla have been stocked by authorities to boost yields, and freshwater prawns from the rivers are a prized part of the catch.


The mid-20th century brought significant changes to the fishery. Government schemes began introducing fast-growing non-native fish to local waters for higher yields. While this did increase volumes, it also disrupted the ecosystem. Indigenous fish populations suffered as habitats were altered and invasive species proliferated.


The introduction of common carp and tilapia, for example, led to declines in native breeds. Grass carp released to control weeds ended up destroying aquatic vegetation crucial for local fish.


Many smaller indigenous fish became scarce, and the diversity of Bhandara’s catch diminished. Even today, exotic species like tilapia appear in some lake fisheries, though they contribute far less than the native fish in both quantity and market value.


Fishing in Bhandara remains largely small-scale and seasonal. Many families engaged in it treat fishing as a secondary occupation alongside farming, relying on traditional wooden boats and various nets.


The main fishing communities are castes such as Kahar, Bhoi and Koli, with some Muslim and Gond tribe fisherfolk also involved. Despite Bhandara’s natural bounty, local fishermen face practical challenges. There is a shortage of cold storage and processing facilities for fish, meaning much of the catch must be rushed to market or sold fresh on the day of harvest. This limits earnings and shelf life.


Recognising these gaps, officials have recently called for investments in better infrastructure and waterbody maintenance.


In early 2025, the state fisheries department highlighted Vidarbha’s untapped reservoir potential, especially in districts like Bhandara, and proposed measures such as desilting lakes, ensuring the availability of quality fish seed and setting up modern fish markets to increase fishermen’s incomes.

A government fish seed farm at Shivani in Bhandara has also been upgraded under a national scheme to supply ample fingerlings for stocking local tanks. These steps aim to sustain Bhandara’s fishery boom while addressing bottlenecks in the value chain.


Communities, Cooperatives and Conservation Efforts


Bhandara’s fishery wealth is harnessed by a web of community institutions and faces social as well as ecological hurdles.


The Dhivar fisherfolk, who long occupied the lowest rungs of village society, initially gained from the cooperative society model as it formally recognised their fishing rights in local tanks.

Today, there are over a hundred fisheries cooperatives active in Bhandara and the adjoining Gondia district, supporting an estimated 11,000 fishing families. These cooperatives lease reservoirs from the government and divide the harvest among member households. However, decades on, this system has only partly lifted the community’s fortunes.


Many fisher families remain economically vulnerable, and some cooperatives struggle to stay viable amid rising costs and competition. In fact, local reports indicate that several co-ops are on the verge of shutting down due to financial stress, which could jeopardise thousands of livelihoods in the region.


Beyond economics, the ecological balance of Bhandara’s lakes is an ongoing concern. The push for higher yields in the past led to habitat degradation and loss of indigenous fish, as noted earlier.


To counter this, fisher communities have begun reviving traditional practices for sustainable harvesting. One community-driven initiative in the last decade managed to rejuvenate over 60 degraded lakes in Bhandara and nearby areas by reintroducing native aquatic plants and returning to selective fishing methods.


These efforts saw indigenous fish populations rebound, and even the market value of the catch rose as consumers noticed the superior taste of the native varieties. Women from fishing families have also become involved through self-help groups, ensuring their voices are heard in managing local water resources.


Such examples show that blending time-tested local knowledge with modern conservation science can restore Bhandara’s fisheries without sacrificing biodiversity.


For the broader Vidarbha region, which contributes a significant share of Maharashtra’s inland fish production, this kind of community-led stewardship offers hope that livelihoods and ecology can advance hand in hand.

Bhandara’s story stands out in Maharashtra, a reminder that inland fisheries can flourish with community stewardship and prudent innovation.


As long as local fishermen continue to adapt and protect their waters, this fishery capital of Vidarbha is poised to remain a vital source of sustenance and economic activity, reflecting the lasting bond between its people and the aquatic heritage that defines their home.


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The NewsDirt is a trusted source for authentic, ground-level journalism, highlighting the daily struggles, public issues, history, and local stories from Vidarbha’s cities, towns, and villages. Committed to amplifying voices often ignored by mainstream media, we bring you reliable, factual, and impactful reporting from Vidarbha’s grassroots.

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