Environmentalists urge caution and appeal not to disturb migratory birds’ ecosystem

Mysore/Mysuru: Rampant fishing activity has begun in Kukkarahalli Lake at a time when rare migratory birds are here to roost. This has enraged bird lovers who have called for judicious fishing, without endangering the migratory bird population.

 The University of Mysore that is the custodian of the lake issued the tenders through e-procurement and the tender has been bagged for Rs. 7,66,920 by Lake, Fish, Development, Marketing and Production Sangha, a unit of Karnataka Cooperative Fisheries Federation. The tender was awarded on Dec. 30, 2023 and accordingly, the fishing activity began yesterday. 

Fishes of all sizes and varieties including Tilapia, Sucker Mouth Fish (Cat Fish) are harvested on a daily basis at the Lake and men operating over 10 coracles are netting the fish. After fishing, the fishes are loaded into plastic containers and are transported to different fish outlets and markets in the city.

Speaking to Star of Mysore, a group of bird lovers and environmentalists said that they saw many coracles inside the lake indulging in fishing since yesterday. This morning, many dead fish were found floating in the lake causing concern among the morning walkers who called the SOM office to report the matter.

While initial reports said that the fishes are dying due to pollution like in the past, later it was revealed that over 40 to 60 fishes died as they were injured while the nets were being spread by                             fish catchers. 

Wetland expert and noted water conservationist U.N. Ravikumar said that fishing is carried out at a time when migratory birds are roosting at the lake and this is a breeding season. “Catching fish is not wrong but they must do it judiciously. A systematic fishing method is being followed in the Karanji Lake where gill nets (bigger nets) are used to catch only the big and fully grown fish, leaving the medium and smaller ones for the migratory birds to feed on,” he said. 

 Another bird conservation activist Saptha Girish said that many migratory bird species are found in abundance at the lake and there are chicks, juveniles and adult birds and all of them need fish to survive. In Karanji Lake, Sri Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens (Mysuru zoo) authorities and Forest Officers regularly check the net size before fishing and there is a strict monitoring. The same method must be followed here too, he said.

“Unfortunately, through rampant fishing, we are breaking the food chain of the birds. As the tender has been called officially, we cannot oppose it. But we appeal UoM to instruct the fish catchers to be judicious and not to venture near the Island and the places where the birds breed,” he added.