Fishy Tales

June 2006: Hundreds of fish die in Daman due to the industrial pollution from Vapi

November 2006: 300 turtles found dead in the Nabhoi-Narmada canal

19 September, 2007: Lakhs of dead fish are washed ashore in Dumas chowpatty in Surat

20 September, 2007: Over a tonne of dead fish found in Ubhrat and Dati in Navsari district

Kinds found dead

8226; Catfish

8226; Sea hemiramphus

8226; Flagfish

8226; Clupeids

8226; Mullets

8226; Solefish

8226; Prawns

What has been done so far

8226; Gujarat Pollution Control Board and the Fisheries department have collected samples of water and fish and sent them for testing

8226; GPCB has released water analyses reports

8226; Fisheries Department is yet to reveal the report

Possible reason: GPCB and the Fisheries Department claim that the deaths could have occurred due to 8220;cloudy weather during which the oxygen levels in water get depleted8221;

Contradicting Claim: Head of the Aquatic Biology Department at VN South Gujarat University, Dr Mohini Gadia, says: 8220;Cloudy weather can reduce oxygen levels in water only in small, stagnant pools. And if fish die only during cloudy weather, they should be dying every monsoon8221;

Testing Waters

The GPCB collected water samples from the estuary of river Tapi and the Arabian Sea

8226; Sanjeev Tyagi, Member Secretary of GPCB, says: Six sea water samples were collected in the region; Results indicate that the water is normal

8226; Sea water collected from the site was colourless and odourless

8226; No trace of oil or any other contaminating matter

8226; Only possible cause is illegal dumping of industrial waste or sewage in the waters

8226; No industries have been identified in the region yet

The water analysis found

8226; The pH of the water varying between 7.74 and 8.07

8226; The total dissolved solids TDS of the water were between 10,000 and 35,000 ppm

8226; The dissolved oxygen levels were in the range 4.2 to 4.8 ml/L

Delayed report

Fisheries Department is still to receive reports from the Forensic Science Laboratory in Surat

8226; NK Vashi, the Deputy Director of the Fisheries Department south Gujarat region says: Fish samples from Dumas arrived only on Friday. It might take another three days for reports to arrive

8226; DK Patel, Assistant Director of the Fisheries Department in Navsari says: By the time the Fisheries Department was informed about the dead fish, most of them had already been swept away by the tides