Maharashtra fisheries department takes action against illegal catfish farming in Ujani, seizes 2.4 tonne fish

Mumbai: The Fisheries Department of the Government of Maharashtra took a strong action against illegal catfish farming in Ujani reservoir.

As it is legally banned to rear and promote catfish farming in Maharashtra, the Fisheries Department conducted a major operation against illegal aquaculture activities in the Ujani Reservoir backwater at Kalthan No. 2, Indapur and seized 2.4 tonne of fish which was going to the market.

The department called the scientist from Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) for identification of the species and destroyed the stock.

The massive seizure was conducted on November 27, 2025, targeting the illegal cultivation of the banned African Mangur catfish (Clarias gariepinus) which is invasive alien species.

The operation was led by Archana Shinde, Assistant Commissioner of Fisheries, Maharashtra, Fishery Development Officer Rathod, Tushar Walunj, Deepali Gund and Gajanan Kate.

The fishery department had already informed the owners not to do farming of this species as it is bad for the Indian fishes, wetlands and the fishery business and hence it is banned.

However, owners continued farming and bringing the stock to the market. This illegal farming poses a severe threat to the native aquatic biodiversity of Ujani, which is a critically important wetland.

The operation was carried out as per the Government of India’s circular dated December 19, 1997, to the states, which bans the inland cultivation of this predatory species.

The fishery department took the help of scientists of Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) to get scientific and technical support.

The BNHS team led by Dr Unmesh G Katwate, Head – Wetland Eco-Restoration & Fisheries Development Program and his team provided immediate, on-site taxonomic identification to confirm that the seized stock is of the banned African Mangur catfish.

The BNHS team which includes Bhavya Desai, Suvamoy Maiti, Shachi Pandey, Vaishnavi Patil, and Shahin Shajahan, also collected farm water samples as evidence and will do a comprehensive ecological assessment to quantify the direct impact of these illegal operations on the Ujani aquatic environment.

“BNHS research team is also conducting laboratory analyses on the seized fishes for detecting the possibility of having any microplastics and heavy metals - contaminants often associated with poorly regulated aquaculture”, stated Dr Katwate.

Ujani is designated as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BNHS (since January 2014) and is vital for migratory and resident bird species. The illegal introduction of invasive predators like the Mangur threatens the entire food chain.

Fishery department is trying to provide better and legal options to the fish farming owners and they should come forward and stop doing illegal farming of African catfish, said Mrs Archana Shinde, Assistant Commissioner of Fisheries, Maharashtra.

She made an appeal to other fish farming owners in Maharashtra to work with the Fishery department and adopt better and legal alternatives as they also provide good income.