The Hindu Business Line : ‘Dredging for Sethusamudram will affect eco system’

Mangalore, May 22 The massive dredging activities in the Sethusamudram project will affect the sensitive eco system in the Gulf of Mannar, according to Dr N.G.K. Pillai, Director of Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI).

Inaugurating a national seminar on ‘Biodiversity regime: Challenges and opportunities’, organised by CMFRI here on Thursday, he said around 3,600 species of flora and fauna are available in Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve.

Of this, more than 300 are endemic species.

The massive dredging for the project will affect the sensitive eco system, sea grass meadows, and the coral eco system in the Gulf of Mannar, he said.

Dr Pillai said there has been more than 60 per cent deduction in the biota of fisheries resources along the Kochi coast in the last three decades.

The activities such as shipyard and shipping made a lot of impact in this matter.

Stating that trawling in the sea impacts the marine fish habitats, he said along with high-value species, many non-edible species are also caught in trawling activity.

This will impact the marine biodiversity.

Three hotspots

The three biodiversity hotspots in the country – Western Ghats, North-Eastern region and the Himalayas – are home to around 600 endemic species.

However, the recent surveys have shown that there has been depletion in the number of species in these biodiversity hotspots.

Dr H. Shivananda Murthy, Director of Extension, Karnataka Veterinary, Animal Science and Fisheries University, Bidar, and Dr B.R. Venkatesh, Director of Geological Survey of India, Mangalore, spoke on the occasion.

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