The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Whoever gives a thought to the fisherfolk?

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Wednesday, May 14, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Whoever gives a thought to the fisherfolk?

Swathi Shivanand

The number of fisherfolk has depleted drastically
Contamination of the lakes has also added to the problem

BANGALORE: The debate might have centred on lakes and their neglected existence until now, but the fallout of the disappearance of water bodies has rarely received the attention it merits. For, the shrinking and encroachment of lakes and the resultant loss of aquatic life, has suffocated the informal local fishing industry and driven out in droves hundreds of families once dependent on fishing in the 300-odd lakes that once dotted the city and its outskirts.

From tens of thousands, the number of fisherfolk has depleted to a mere 5,222 in Bangalore Urban district as identified by the Department of Fisheries. Of this, only about 1,889 are active. Furthermore, of the 2,439 fisherwomen, only about 505 are still involved in the allied activities of unloading, sorting, processing and marketing the catch.

Polluting reasons

The foam and froth of the once 950-acre Bellandur Lake stands as an instance of how rampant pollution has destroyed marine life and the livelihoods of more than 100 families. Researcher Rohan D’Souza, in his study of the lake, talks about the lake’s produce attracting fisherfolk from even as far as Andhra Pradesh.

“Fishing was so well organised in the Bellandur area that they even had a co-operative society and a fish market. When in the late ’70s Cauvery water came in and the dependence on the lake reduced, sewage began to be dumped into it. In a way, pollution of this water body shows how we began to neglect these amazing rain water harvesting systems merely because they did not meet our water demands any more,” he says.

Across the city, contamination of the lakes has led to an increase in the carnivorous catfish, which flourishes in water with heightened levels of polluting elements, says Lakshmana, president of Sri Krishna Fishermen’s Co-operative Society, which has licences to carry out fishing activities in some lakes in Bangalore North.

“These fish eat up the fish seeds (fishlings) we release into the water, the already high mortality rate of the fish seeds goes up and this further decreases our yield,” he says.

If about 1.5 lakh fish seeds are released into the lake, even under fair conditions only 40 per cent of the fish grow to saleable sizes.”

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