Abstract Three types of reservoirs exist in Indonesia: field, irrigation, and multipurpose. The annual production of fish in these reservoirs varies from 15 to 380 kg/ha. Capture fisheries are dominant in Indonesian reservoirs. Stocking programs have been managed by the government to sustain fish yields. Fish culture practices, conducted mainly in floating net enclosures, have been recently introduced in the Lido, Saguling, and Riam Kanan reservoirs and the natural lake Toba. Common carp (Cy rtinus cater ioo) is the most important species cultured. Fish culture has shown good potential and should be pursued in the future. Physical and chemical characteris- tics of some mgjor Indonesian reservoirs are outlined in the paper. Indonesia has three types of reservoirs: field, irrigation, and multipurpose (Table 1). Field reservoirs satisfy the water needs of the local community. In certain areas, these reservoirs act as water traps for the conservation of ground water. They are built by damming creeks or diking valleys. Irrigation reservoirs supply water for agricultural purposes. They are built by damming relatively small rivers. Multipurpose reservoirs are created for flood control, hydroelectric power generation, irrigation, and to supply water for industrial and municipal purposes. They are built by damming relatively large rivers. Open-water fisheries, including reservoir fisheries, has an important role in Indonesia contributing 270,000 t to the total freshwater fish production (Anon. 1987). There is no specific data on the total fish production of all the reservoirs in Indonesia; however