Govind Belgaumkar/The Hindu

• Industries discharging effluents is a major cause for concern
• The DO, cadmium levels are said to be ‘critical’
• ‘European importers have become cautious about Indian fish’

Mangalore, Feb 27: Industries are said to be discharging effluents into the Arabian Sea, unmindful of Government regulations. Industrialists keep claiming that the norms laid down by the Karnataka State Pullution Control Board (KSPCB) have been adhered to. But their claims do not match the ground truth. However, Dakshina Kannada Parisarasakta Okkuta, a non governmental organisation, is trying its bit in marine health of the region.

President of the okkuta Upendra A. Hosbet says that the dissolved oxygen (DO) in water, which the fish inhale, should not be below 4 mg a litre, as per the standards announced by Central Pollution Control Board. Lower DO level is considered to be “critical”.

Critical aspect

According to a recent study conducted at Chitrapur beach by the College of Fisheries here, the DO levels were 2.89 mg, 3.5 mg and 4.32 mg in three samples. Another report, presented by the National Institute of Oceanography for April-May 2007, also suggested that DO level was critical in five of the six places from where the samples had been collected. However, a report of September-October 2007 by National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) mentioned that the DO level was 7.9 mg a litre against 6.2 mg furnished by KSPCB.

Another parameter

The August 2007 report of NIO said even the cadmium level ranged between 0.42 and 26.56 mg a litre and the average was 7.6 mg. The cadmium level is stated to be another parameter to determine if the sea water is healthy for the fish. It was mentioned in the NIO’s August report that the cadmium level was “exceptionally high”.

Hosbet said that metals such as cadmium got accumulated in the gills of fish and ended up in human bodies.

Variations

“The variation in the results of studies by different bodies warrants serious consideration without waiting for a disaster to happen. Disaster can happen in the form of rejection of fish exported from this region or people getting the infamous Minamata disease that surfaced in Japan,” Hosbet said.

The European importers had become cautious about Indian fish. I. Karunasagar, senior fishery officer (Quality) of the Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organisation of United Nations, pointed out at the recent fisheries conference here that Indian Government was making serious efforts to reduce the threat.

Assistant Director of Marine Products Export Development Authority V.K. Vijayalakshmi told The Hindu that there were no instances of rejection of consignments from Karnataka. Indrani Karunasagar, Head, Microbiology Department, College of Fisheries, said that organic pollution of the ocean had to be stopped to ensure better health of marine life.