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Crackdown on destructive fishing methods in Ashtamudi

— Photo: C. SURESH KUMAR

SAVING aquatic life: An unauthorised Chinese net being removed from Ashtamudi Lake in an operation by the Fisheries Department against destructive methods of fishing.

KOLLAM: The Fisheries Department has launched a major operation to bust the destructive methods of fishing employed in Ashtamudi Lake. Deputy Director of the department K.J. Prasanna Kumar said here on Wednesday that the crackdown was part of the measures to conserve the aquatic life in the lake.

Chinese and stake nets are the two main destructive methods of fishing employed in the lake. While the stake nets are laid in the estuary area, the unauthorised Chinese nets have been laid all over the lake since the monsoon began. Mr. Prasanna Kumar said that the operation was launched on Tuesday evening . Police protection was sought since an attempt by the department on July 17 to remove destructive fishing gadgets from the lake met with resistance.

In Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s operation, huge quantities of ‘poovalan konju’ (kadal shrimp) and other fish were found entangled in the stake nets. These were later auctioned. These shrimp and fish enter the lake during the monsoon for spawning. The stake and Chinese nets trap them while they enter the lake during high tide.

Once they are trapped in the nets, the fish are unable to spawn and this is cited as one of the main reasons for the depletion of aquatic life. While stake nets are banned, some Chinese nets are permitted but on condition that these should not be used for fishing during high tide. Mr. Prasanna Kumar said that the unauthorised Chinese nets have been erected till the Venkekara area of the lake. All these will be cleared within this week. During the course of the crackdown, bush park fishing, another destructive method known locally as ‘thoopum padalam’ are also being cleared.

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