FIAPO alleges high levels of lead, cadmium in aqua farms

The Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organisations (FIAPO) and All Creatures Great and Small (ACGS) have said that they found lead and cadmium in fish and shrimp farms in the country.

“With careless use of antibiotics and insecticides, there is a looming threat of antimicrobial resistance in aquaculture,” they said in a joint statement on Friday.

“We have found shocking conditions in this growing sector. Fish are kept in cramped, filthy enclosures, with no waste management,’’ Varda Mehrotra, Executive Director of FIAPO, said.

“The contaminated water from these fish farms is released into local water bodies and estuaries that spread the parasites further, causing harm to the fish population as well as humans, Varda Mehrotra said.

The FIAPO and ACGS investigated about 250 fish and shrimp farms in 10 states in the country. The list includes Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry, Gujarat, West Bengal and Orissa.

In Andhra Pradesh, the study covered the farms in West Godavari, Krishna, Guntur and Visakhapatnam districts. The organisations claimed that all of the 20 freshwater fish farms and 21 shrimp farms in the State were found to have high lead and cadmium levels.

“More than 50 per cent of the fish farms had poor dissolved oxygen levels, which means fish were struggling to survive with high mortality rates,” she said.