This article provides a paragraph on Lake Chilka.
Lake Chilka is the largest brackish water lake in India. Spread over more the 1,000 sq.km, the lake is rapidly degrading.
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Every year, 113 million tonnes of silt are carried into the lake clogging all but two of the numerous channels connecting it to the Bay of Bengal. Of these two, there is water in the Magardha Muhana only during the monsoon. Decreased natural clearance of silt coupled with increasing silt inflow is filling up the lake.
The conservation problem in lake Chilka is fraught with conflicts. Lake Chilka is the leading centre in Odisha for fish, prawn and crab hauls. For centuries, the lake was managed by the traditional fishing communities through their system of “caste panchayats.”
The panchayat imposed controls on various aspects of fishing. Numerous rules regarding the seasonal catch areas and community-related fishing equipment ensured that the lake was managed like a common property. There were festival and religion-linked “no fishing days” and also restricted fishing seasons. These provided safe breeding seasons when the lake could restock itself with fish and prawns.
Changing the rules:
The entry of commercial interests into fishing changed all this. The new entrants in the fishing trade neither belonged to the traditional fishing communities nor obeyed their rules and regulations for managing the lake.
For instance, the “no-fishing days” observed by fisher folk during certain festivals were not respected and the highly-evolved system of dividing seasons into “catch” seasons and “growth” seasons was also ignored. Traditional methods of fishing and the various cultural factors connected with it were not respected by this community of non-traditional fishermen.
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Until recently, fishing was considered a low-caste profession. So it was only communities belonging to the so-called lower castes which took up fishing as their major source of livelihood. Traditional fishing communities could fish throughout the year by paying a licence fee. People outside this community fished in the lake mostly for their household consumption.
Also, in the past, the commercial fishing trade was restricted by the fact that only the traditional fisher-folk knew the art of weaving nets. In the past few decades, however, readymade nylon nets have become available in finer mesh sizes than those woven by the fisher-folk. As a result, even fingerlings and immature prawn are trapped—thereby contributing to lower yields.
The commercialization of the fish business has been the bane of fishermen and fish-eaters alike. A conspicuous impact of this is evident in the decline of the dried fish business and the high prices of dried fish.
Dried fish is an important source of animal protein for the poor. Matsyajivi Mahasangha, a fishermen’s cooperative, has been fighting to restore to the fishermen their rights over the lake. But the Government has not been sensitive to its demands.
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In the past few decades, fishing has become modernized and dependent on heavy external inputs. Large areas of the lake have been encroached upon by local mafia, businessmen, top administrators and political leaders of the State.
The preference for a large catch and bigger prawn farms has led to the sidelining of the interests and aspirations of the original fishermen. Despite the Supreme Court directive ordering the demolition of prawn farm embankments, it is yet to be implemented in most places. Elsewhere, only cosmetic changes have been made.
The mushrooming of prawn farms has led to various environmental problems. For the fishermen, a major problem is the fall in the yield from traditional fishing methods. These fishermen do not give in to the growing demand for prawn juveniles.
However, illegal suppliers catch the juveniles at the mouth of the lake and sell them. This has led to a sharp fall in the quantum of juveniles growing inside the lake and consequently a drop in the availability of prawns. The prawn farms have thus increased their profits only at the cost of the traditional fishing community.
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In the past, hereditary fishermen received preference over other people in the allocation of fishing areas (sairats). But now the government has taken away from these fishermen much of the area that was vested with them and leased it out to people who are not fisherpersons by tradition. The fishermen are losing their rights as a result of the systematic effort of the state to assert its sovereign rights over the lake.
One of the lake’s major problems is the decrease in its depth. The rivers that empty into the lake snake through kilometers of hilly terrain that surround it. Heavy deforestation has resulted in greater erosion, thereby increasing the particulate matter in the river water. Due to the clogging of channels connecting the lake to the sea, silt is not carried in adequate quantities to the sea.
This fall in depth has caused a decline in the availability of deeper shelter zones as breeding grounds. The overexploitation and loss of breeding grounds have together affected the fish population in the lake. Siltation and shallowing have also contributed to the growth of weeds.
The decreasing interaction with the sea has also reduced the salinity of the water. This has contributed to weed infestation and decreased suitability of the water for some varieties of fish. Consequently, the catch has gone down over time.
The brackish water fish production in the State has declined by 55.8 per cent between 1988- 89 and 1994-95 despite the increasing production from prawn aquaculture. This is evident from the fact that fish landings by traditional fishing have declined by more than 60 per cent.
Although the prices of prawns and fish have increased, this does not compensate for the loss in volume. The maximum available size and the average size of the fish have declined indicating a fall in the fish population. About 45 per cent of fish species have become extinct in lake Chilka.
The report of the Zoological Survey of India revealed that at present, only 69 species of fish are found in the lake as against the 126 mentioned in the 1920 report.
The fish and crab haul from the lagoon has consistently dropped from 8,872 tonnes in 1986-87 to a mere 780 tonnes in 1996-97. Among the threatened species are dolphin, khainga (Mugil Cephalus), sahala (Eleutheronema Tetradactylum) and crabs.
Pesticides used in agricultural fields situated in the coastal areas often get flushed into the lake Chilka. The chemicals react when they come into contact with salt water in the lake. This results in the loss of oxygen in the water, affecting the biotic life.
Besides, a caustic alkali industry discharges its effluents directly into the lake causing problems of mercury accumulation in the lake ecosystem.
Recommendations of a workshop on the Chilka lake, of which the Odissa Government was one of the organizers, mention the mercury accumulation problem in the lake. The 1996 report of the Zoological Survey of India also warns of the presence of toxic heavy metals like copper, lead, zinc and nickel in the lake.
The fishing community is the most affected by the deterioration in lake Chilka’s environment dependent as it is on the lake for its survival. The fishermen have been thinking seriously about ways to stem the slide. Their suggestions regarding environmental conservation and sustainable utilization of the lake are practical and pertinent.
The major areas of concern are how to protect this resource from siltation, weeds, pollution, unregulated prawn culture and increasing fishing intensity. Intensive fishing without an increase in the stock of fish will soon lead to the extinction of key species in the lake.
Action Needed:
In terms of restrictions needed to conserve the resource, people feel that one day in the week should be observed as a non-fishing day, catching small fries and prawns below two inch size and fishing during the breeding season should be prohibited and the minimum mesh of nets should not be less than 1.5 inches. They stressed that motor boats should be used only for transportation and not for fishing.
Unauthorized prawn embankments should be demolished and prawn culture restricted. The large number of bunds/enclosures which obstruct capture fisheries and the free circulation of water in the lake need to be demolished.
Fishing in channels connecting the lake to the sea impedes the free movement of water and fish. Therefore, the channels need to be closed. People also demand the introduction of biological control agents like carps which are vigorous eaters of aquatic vegetation and can help reduce the growth of weeds.
Soil conservation measures in the catchment areas of the lake and tributary rivers were also recommended. The fishermen felt the need for breeding hatcheries to be set up for stocking prawns and fish in the lake through artificial release and also for supplying prawn culture farms. Strict measures to prevent unauthorized bird poaching were suggested. It was felt that gun licenses in the area should be kept to the minimum.
There was also a demand that tourism which suited the lake’s resources be promoted and that the local youths should be trained as guides. The rights of traditional fishermen over the lake must be restored to bring back a sense of belonging and greater local control over the lake and to prevent overfishing and excessive prawn culture.
Proper demarcation of fishing sairats (zones) of fishermen and non-fishermen communities is a must to prevent the “might is right” regime that goes against the customary right of fishing communities. In this context it would be necessary to restore the rights and the role of the Matsyajivi Mahasangha and revitalize the cooperative societies to ameliorate the conditions of the fishermen.
Lake Chilka is the sole life support system for its fishing communities. In thousands of homes the hearth burns only if the net catches something. This subsistence livelihood is under threat of being wiped out by the incursion of commercial interests into fishing in the area. The very survival of the lake is threatened. The need today is not only to save the lake but to save its fishing communities.