Kerala Dheevara Mahasabha - a success story

To an extent we could accomplish solid waste management by removal of plastic wastes from coastal waters. In 2nd October 2017, our organization members had actively involved in the Kayal cleaning programme of Vembanad Lake, Marine drive, Kochi, removing the buried and floating marine debris form the lake. We have also provided the women of employment guarantee programme, involved in solid waste management activities with hats and jerseys and also actively involved with them in the cleaning programmes in Nayarambalam

Socio-economic analysis of finfish culture in cages in coastal waters of Kerala, southwest coast of India

Cage culture of finfish is becoming a popular alternate source of livelihood in Vembanad Lake in Kerala, India. A study was conducted during November to December, 2016 to assess the socio-economic status of the farmers practicing cage culture in Kerala and the resultant economic benefits. Data on demographic features, farming activities, specific culture and farm management practices, economics and problems related to cage farming were collected from 36 active farmers of the Ernakulam District. Etroplus suratensis (Pearl spot), Lates calcarifer (Asian sea bass), and Genetically Improved Farm Tilapia (GIFT) were the major species culture

Report on occurrence of Yellow Sea Snake Hydrophis spiralis off Kerala coast

Sea snakes play an important role in the marine food web and studies on their diversity and distribution are very limited in India. Globally, 70 species of sea snakes have been reported under the family Elapidae which is divided into two subfamilies (i) Laticaudinae and (ii) Hydrophiinae. Sea snakes belonging to the subfamily Hydrophiinae are considered as ‘true sea snakes’ with 62 species which are viviparous (give birth to live young at sea). Laticaudinae sea snakes called the ‘sea kraits’ have 8 species and are oviparous. They come to the land for mating and to lay eggs

Marine mammal strandings along the Indian coast mapped

The stranding locations of marine mammals namely blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus), Bryde’s whale (Balaenoptera edeni), fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus), humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) and minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) along the Indian coast were mapped (Fig. 1) using passive method. The data was collected for the period 1874 to 2016

Geospatial Technology: An Effective tool for marine mammal conservation

Geospatial Technology: An Effective tool for marine mammal conservatio

Mulching brown seaweed Sargassum wightii during transplant on the growth and yield of paddy

Seaweeds gain importance recently in agriculture as several studies have shown that chemicals extracted from seaweeds are used as soil amendments to increase crop yield. We report here the positive effects of brown seaweed Sargassum wightii on paddy when applied as mulch during transplantation trials carried out in a progressive farmer’s field

Report on the deep sea swarming crab

Deep sea swarming crab Charybdis (Goniohellenus) smithii MacLeay, is found in the depth range between 60 to 356 m in the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal and believed to play a significant role in the marine food web. Observations from a trawl survey aboard F V Silver Pompano at 40 m depth that was made on 17th October, 2017 is reported. The trawl was operated in the afternoon for one hour, from 09° 57’55" to 10° 00’ 03" North and 75° 55’ 37" to 75° 53’ 50" East coordinates at a speed of 3.5 knots/hour

Water quality management in aquaculture

In aquaculture, water quality is one of the prime factors that determines the success of that particular culture. Primarily the water quality parameters are divided into three major categories, physical, chemical and biological. But a slight change in some of the parameters especially pH,temperature,DO will lead to stress in the organism and it may be of physiological or behavioral. Deteriorated or changed water quality will affect growth,reproductive capacity. Susceptibility to diseases is also more in such environment. Water qualitymanagement measures aim at improving water quality. Aquaculture entrepreneurs should know the basics of water quality management measures in aquaculture to reduce the problems related with water quality so as to utilize the of water body with viable profit as well as environmental sustainabilit

Eco-friendly bags - an alternative to plastic carry bags

Fishery Environment and Management Division of CMFRI is always focussing on environment concern issues apart from Research on Marine Environment .One of the major threats the ecosystem faces in the present world is the impact due to non-degradable wastes especially plastics. Enumerable numbers of Plastics in the form of carry bags enter in to our houses and it has become an inevitable item in the daily life. But the improper waste disposal due to poor waste management facilities available in our society causes the accumulation of these non-degradable plastic materials on the road sides and open grounds there by polluting the ecosystem

Sediment blue carbon stock of Avicennia officinalis in Vembanad Lake ecosystem, Kerala, India

Stock assessment of the blue carbon pool of selected patches of mangrove sediment in the Vembanad Lake was done using the standard protocols on a per ha basis and multiplied with the estimated area to derive the blue carbon stock of the particular fragmented mangrove stands of the species Avicennia officinalis (Indian Mangrove), twice (in the post and pre-monsoon) during October 2017-March 2018. The treatments included ‘aged’, ‘recent’, ‘healthy’ and ‘degraded’ mangroves of the selected species and ‘control’ without mangroves. The overall mean carbon stock in the A. officinalis sediments in selected locations of the Vembanad Lake area was 136.09 Mg C/ha (Mg=mega gram=1 tonne). This value is far low compared to the mean global soil organic carbon stock in the mangrove ecosystem (386 Mg C/ha). This finding suggests ample opportunity for more carbon sequestration in the selected mangrove ecosystems in Vembanad Lake, toward climate change mitigation measures. The treatments differed significantly in the cumulative stock of blue carbon and layer-wise blue carbon density in sediment (p<0.05), the highest seen in ‘healthy’ mangroves in both seasons. The overall range of layer-wise blue carbon density in sediment was found to be 0.003 to 0.56 Mg/m3. Spatial maps prepared for layer-wise blue carbon density in the sediment revealed its depth-wise increase. Layer wise blue carbon stock in sediment had a significant correlation with total organic carbon and organic matter (p<0.01) and with the C/N ratio of the sediment (p < 0.05). Based on the results, this study suggests total organic carbon and the C/N ratio of sediment as possible predictive indicators of sediment blue carbon