Ramanathapuram
Seeking to protect the sensitive mangrove blocks in the district, the Tamil Nadu Forest department has said ‘no’ to at least seven shrimp farms, coming up within the sensitive zone near the blocks.
As clearances from at least five departments were required for establishing shrimp farms for promoting aquaculture under controlled conditions, the forest department denied permission for seven farms – five in Mandapam region and two in Kilakarai region.
After perusing about 30 applications for establishing shrimp farms from SP Pattinam to Kilakarai in the district, the forest department refused recommendation to seven farms as they sought to be established close to the mangrove blocks in the two regions.
The district had 13 mangrove blocks, spreading on 550 hectares in Mandapam, Karankadu, Ramanthapuram and Kilakarai regions and the forest department has drawn up a series of measures to preserve the blocks which served as breeding clusters for some species of fishes and crabs.
The department has given ‘not recommended’ report as the shrimp farms, which let out high salinity effluent discharge, would pose a threat to the mangrove blocks, officials said. The reports would be sent to the fisheries department through the Wildlife Warden, they said.
A shrimp farm established in five hectares should have an effluent treatment plant to treat the discharge before releasing and cluster of farms in total area of five hectares, a common effluent treatment plant but no farm or farms had the plants in the district, official sources said.
The department of fisheries accorded permission in a bid to promote aquaculture but the shrimp farms failed to comply with the norms and adhere to the rules, they said.
Though the revenue department should ensure that the farms do not come up near human settlements and the agriculture department that cultivable lands were not converted as shrimp farms, farms sprang up in objectionable places due to ‘official apathy’, they said. Advanced technologies were available to treat the discharge but they were seldom implemented, they said and called for regulation of the farms, the sources said and sought the intervention of the fisheries department.
