The Hindu : Kerala / Kochi News : Studies to assess impact of tsunami

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jan 28, 2005

Kerala

Kerala - Kochi

Studies to assess impact of tsunami

By Our Staff Reporter

KOCHI, JAN. 27. The fisheries division of the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) is to conduct a series of studies to assess the impact of tsunami on fish wealth, ocean floor, ocean environment and allied areas.

The directors of various fisheries research institutions, fisheries colleges and senior scientists from research institutions met at Kochi last week for a primary discussion of the project. Sixty scientists, representing various institutions, attended the meeting.

Short-term projects

It decided that the research institutions would be conducting short-term studies and the maximum time limit allotted would be two years.

The meeting, convened by S. Ayyappan, Deputy Director-General (Fisheries) of the ICAR, decided to focus on the post-tsunami scenario in fisheries and marine sectors. The research institutions were asked to submit project reports on specific areas for approval and funding.

K. Devadasan, director, Central Institute of Fisheries Technology; Mohan Joseph Modayil, director, Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute; Vinaysheel Goutham, director, Indian Institute of Management, New Delhi, and K. Gopakumar, former deputy Director-General, ICAR, were among those who attended.

The studies will be covering the coastal belt of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra and data from Mangalore coast will be taken as the benchmark for comparing the data from the tsunami-affected areas.

Scientists will be looking into the safety aspects of seafood with special reference to pathogens, microbes, virus, toxic algae and heavy metal pollution. Studies into the possible changes in the chemical content of the ocean water, changes in the bottom structure of sea near Tamil Nadu coast and its effect on fishing activities will also be held.

The possible changes in the mineral deposit in ocean floor will also be studied following reports that there has been a change in mineral deposit patterns. The socio-economic impact of the tsunami on the coastal population will also be assessed.

Sagar Sampada, research vessel of the Department of Ocean Development (DOD), has left for the Andamans, which was devastated by the tsunami.

The vessel, which left the Kochi coast on January 5, reached Chennai on January 19 after conducting studies on the impact of the tsunami on sea bottom and its resources.

The expedition is being coordinated and facilitated by the Centre for Marine Living Resources and Ecology (CMLRE) of the DOD. The vessel is expected to reach the Andamans on February 16.

"The Department is analysing the data. A detailed report will be submitted to the Union Ministry soon," said V. Ravindranath, director of the DOD.

NIO study

Researchers of the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), Kochi, have embarked on a study to assess the impact of the tsunami on beaches of the State and Kanyakumari. The team led by V. Kesavadas, deputy director, NIO, Kochi, is expected to complete the study by the second week of February, said K.K.C. Nair, scientist-in-charge of NIO, Kochi.

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