By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Sep 7: More than 200 residents of Khliehshnong village, Sohra, came together for an extraordinary community fishing competition, promoting aquatic preservation.
Organized by the Khliehshnong Village Dorbar on Saturday, the event titled ‘Fishing for Conservation’ aimed to raise awareness and encourage participation in the conservation of the snakehead fish species, locally known as ‘dohthli’, along with the broader aquatic ecosystem and the rich biodiversity in the village’s creeks and rivulets.
More than 200 participants, including nature enthusiasts, fishermen, women, and youth, eagerly fished for snakeheads, hoping to catch, identify, and release them back into the wild.
“This valuable inventory will become an important asset for the village and is envisaged to lay the grounds for future conservation efforts and policies,” a statement here said.
Dr. Bashida Massar, along with her team from the Department of Zoology at St. Anthony’s College, led the identification process of the snakehead fished during the community event.
This remarkable event is part of a larger project Protection and Sustainable Management of Aquatic Resources in the North Eastern Himalayan Region of India (NERAQ), funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV) and implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.
“The Protection and Sustainable Management of Aquatic Resources in the North Eastern Himalayan Region of India (NERAQ) project activities in Khliehshnong seeks to promote community preservation of the snakehead species and its ecosystem as well as showcase a model that combines conservation with aqua-tourism for the purpose of providing employment to the youths of the village,” the statement said.
Key partners in this initiative include the Khliehshnong Village Dorbar, who not only pledged their support but also contributed financially to establishing a Visitor Information Centre near the village water reservoir.
Other important collaborators are the Department of Fisheries, which provides technical expertise on fishery management, and the Meghalaya State Biodiversity Board, which supports the Khliehshnong Biodiversity Management Committee in safeguarding the village’s local biodiversity.