Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute to set up clinics to assess water quality in Kerala

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KOCHI: In the wake of a recent study report on the alarming level of E. coli contamination in the Vembanad lake, the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) has decided to set up water clinics in the coastal regions in the state. “At a time when climate change continues to fuel storm surges resulting in coastal flooding, the proposed clinics are aimed at assessing the quality of drinking water resources of coastal communities,” said CMFRI director A Gopalakrishnan.

He was speaking at an awareness workshop on climate change among the fishermen residing in Chellanam and Puthuvype in Ernakulam district on Wednesday.

“Emulating the success model of the ‘Citizen Science’ initiative of the Vembanad research project, the participation of students will be ensured to conduct massive water quality checks in the coastal regions with the support of a mobile application,” he said.

In order to set up the clinics, CMFRI will collaborate with the Nansen Environmental Research Centre, Kochi, the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), the public health department and other agencies.

While sharing the hardships faced by them due to climate change, the fishermen described the increased frequency and intensity of coastal flooding that wreaks havoc on their daily lives and aquaculture practices. They also expressed concern about the evidently visible environmental disturbances in waterbodies such as sedimentation and obstructed water flow, as well as the growing incidences of disease outbreaks in aquaculture farms.

CMFRI scientist C Ramachandran, who moderated the discussion, said fishermen are the most affected community due to the impact of climate change.

To minimize the loss caused by climate change on the coastal communities, the CMFRI provided climate aid to 24 fisher families belonging to the SC community at Chellanam and Puthuvype, on the occasion. As part of this, implements such as fishing nets, freezers, ice boxes, motor pump sets, fish seeds and feeds, etc. worth Rs 2.5 lakh were distributed among the fishermen under the Scheduled Caste Sub Plan (SCSP) programme of the National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) project of the institute.

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