Purpose

Reservoirs are the inland open water resources which man-made lake or large freshwater body of water. A reservoir is an impoundment obstructing the surface flow of a river, stream or any water course. It exists in lentic and lotic habitats. All the lentic habitats, such as reservoirs, ponds and lakes, are extremely important as they are endowed with abundance of other natural resources too. Dams are also called artificial lakes. In order to fulfill the various needs of man, dams have been constructed across the rivers so as to form a pool of water on the upstream side of the barrier. These artificial lakes are called water reservoirs. The quality of this reservoir water is not much different from that of a natural lake. The water stored in the reservoir can be used easily not only for water supplies but also for irrigation, hydroelectric power generation and aquaculture. It also enhances the aesthetic as well as ecological value of the area Reservoirs constitute the single largest inland fisheries resource in terms of resource size and production potential. There are different bases to classify the reservoirs. Form fisheries perspective reservoirs are classified as small, medium and large reservoirs mainly depending on the total water spread area ≤ 1000 ha, 1000 -5000 ha, ≥ 5000ha, respectively. The reservoirs are predominantly located in the peninsular and central Indian states viz. Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Odisha, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh. The percentage of the reservoir area and the number of reservoirs in different states of India. The state of Madhya Pradesh has the maximum area under reservoirs while Tamil Nadu has the maximum number of reservoirs. The states of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh have the maximum number and area of large reservoirs while the maximum number and area of small reservoirs are in the state of Tamil Nadu (Sugunan, 2011). Although the reservoir are created primarily for irrigation, power generation and other water resource development purposes, these water have become the prime inland fisheries resources of India owing to many reasons.