Chilika lagoon is situated on the east coast of India and is

spread over three districts of Odisha, namely Puri, Khordha and Ganjam. The water spread area varies between 1165 and 906sq.km during monsoon and summer respectively. It is a hot

spot for biodiversity, and the largest wintering ground for

migratory avian guests on the Indian sub-continent

Acharya, A

Baliarsingh, SK

Dalabehera, HB

Lotliker, AA

Sahoo, S

Sahu, KC

Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India

SCIENTIFIC CORRESPONDENCE 
 
CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 106, NO. 4, 25 FEBRUARY 2014 516 
Oil pollution in Chilika lagoon: an anthropogenic threat to biodiversity 
 
Chilika lagoon is situated on the east 
coast of India and is spread over three 
districts of Odisha, namely Puri,  
Khordha and Ganjam. The water-spread 
area varies between 1165 and 906 sq. km 
during monsoon and summer respec-
tively1. It is a hotspot for biodiversity, 
and the largest wintering ground for  
migratory avian guests on the Indian  
sub-continent. It also boasts of some rare 
species such as Irrawaddy dolphins and 
Smooth-coated otters. The Nalabana  
Island in the central sector of the lagoon 
is a Bird Sanctuary and hosts migratory 
birds every winter. The lagoon is a 
highly productive ecosystem with rich 
fishery resources. It supports the liveli-
hood of more than 2 lakh fisherfolk  
living in and around the lagoon2. In the 
last few decades the lagoon has been  
affected severely due to some natural 
processes like alteration of physico-
chemical characteristics of water due  
to variations in climatic condition and  
desilting action of mouth of the lagoon3 
and anthropogenic inputs, viz. urban,  
industrial and agricultural waste4,5. This 
note describes oil pollution from mecha-
nized vessels observed during regular 
field surveys (Figure 1). 
 More than 2 lakh fisherfolk derive 
their livelihoods from the lagoon re-
sources. About 5089 non-motorized boats 
and 2259 motorized boats are used for 
fishing6. Moreover, a small number of 
these boats is used for tourism (dolphin-
watching, temple visit, beach visit, Nala-
bana sanctuary trip) and about 5–6 jetties 
are used for both fisheries and tourism, 
and about 15 small boat-docking sites 
exist facilitating these movements6. Most 
of the motorized boats use petrol, diesel 
and kerosene as fuel along with engine 
oil. Apart from the fishing vessels, a  
motorized ferry operates four times a day 
between Satpada and Janhikuda, a main-
tenance dredger functions in different lo-
cations of the lagoon, boat services are 
offered by Odisha Tourism Development 
Corporation and local boats run through 
the day to transport people between Sat-
pada and other locations in Chilika. 
These are some sources of leakage of  
petroleum oil into Chilika. Daily leakage 
of petrol, kerosene and engine oil from 
these motorized vessels due to poor 
maintenance and improper fuel handling 
is a cause of worry. The above man-
made oil pollution can collectively be  
attributed to lack of awareness about  
environmental pollution, as well as boat 
maintenance protocols. 
 Oil leaks from motorized vessels may 
affect the lagoon environment and its  
biota directly or indirectly in Chilika.  
Petroleum oil contains volatile organic 
compounds which can partially evaporate 
by losing 20–40% of their mass becom-
ing more viscous and denser, which  
provides more resistance to oil flow.  
Although a small percentage of oil may 
dissolve, the oil residue can disperse  
invisibly in the water and make a thick 
coating on the water surface. Oil also 
mixes with the suspended matter and 
sinks to the bottom. Toxic polycyclic 
aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) form a 
small fraction of crude and refined petro-
leum oil which remain in anoxic sedi-
ments after entering into aquatic 
systems7,8 and can affect all aquatic or-
ganisms9,10.  Formation of thick coating 
by the oil residue obstructs the photosyn-
thesis of phytoplankton, which affects 
the total productivity of the lagoon. 
 Petroleum hydrocarbon (PHC) concen-
tration of lagoon water was determined 
at four sites representing the four sectors 
of the lagoon (Figure 2). Three samples 
from each sector were collected during 
September 2013, analysed for PHC and 
the averages were considered as the rep-
resenting concentrations for each sector. 
The Outer Channel was observed to have 
the highest PHC concentration (330 g/l),  
whereas the Northern Sector had the 
lowest (50 g/l) (Figure 2). PHC concen-
trations from the Central Sector and 
Southern Sector were 280 g/l and 
130 g/l respectively. The Outer Channel 
of Chilika and the Central Sector have a 
high density of traditional non-motorized 
fishing and motorized fishing, and are 
also the centre of tourism activities, 
which might be the reason for these high 
PHC values compared to the other sec-
tors. Presently observed values were 
concomitant with other studies indicating 
oil pollution due to increase in PHC con-
centration, viz. in the Arabian Sea (0.6–
305 g/l)11, Visakhapatnam Harbour 
(11.5–123.8 g/l)12, Chennai Harbour 
 
 
Figure 1. Field photographs of oil pollut ion in Chilika lagoon. 
SCIENTIFIC CORRESPONDENCE 
 
CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 106, NO. 4, 25 FEBRUARY 2014 517 
(11–139 g/l)12 and Chennai to Nagapat-
tinam (14–1772 g/l)13. 
 Around 165 species and subspecies of 
birds representing 28 families are found 
in the Nalabana Bird Sanctuary14. They 
migrate from as far away as the Caspian 
Sea, Lake Baikal, the Aral Sea and other 
remote parts of Russia and the Himala-
yas to Chilika lagoon. Oil pollution can 
have an adverse effect on these birds and 
associated wildlife. Oil affects birds by 
coating their plumage, matting and mis-
aligning their feathers causing problems 
with insulation15. Oil can also cause 
health issues for dolphins, which could 
cover their blowhole or enter the lungs16.  
The out-flux of oil-polluted lagoon water 
into the Bay of Bengal, through the 
Outer Channel, may be harmful to the 
nearby Olive Ridley sea turtle mass nest-
ing site at Rushikulya estuary2 and other 
aquatic life, specially fish which is one 
of the primary sources of livelihood for 
coastal communities in Odisha. Oil pol-
lution has both short-term and long-term 
effects on the biota. Smothering, hypo-
thermia and mortality are the short- 
term adverse effects on the flora and  
fauna. Whereas genetic abnormalities 
and changes in reproductive behaviour 
are the long-term effects when oil accu-
mulates in eggs, embryos and body tis-
sues of organisms present in different 
orders of the food chain. Hydrocarbon 
fraction of oil disturbs the stability of the 
ecosystem by affecting the respiration 
and the nitrogen cycle17. 
 The key to solve this anthropogenic 
problem is the safe handling of fuels,  
engine oils and grease in motorized ves-
sels. This can be accomplished by creat-
ing awareness among the motorized 
vessel owners and using administrative 
policies by the government. Oil spill  
removal by self-cleaning bacteria and 
bioremediation through fungi may be  
attempted18,19. Hazardous chemicals like 
organochlorine pesticides and poly-
chlorinated biphenyls have entered into 
the lagoon predominantly via agricultural 
run-off5. So, keeping in view of the future 
adverse impact of oil pollution and haz-
ardous chemicals on the lagoon ecosys-
tem, this anthropogenic pollution should 
be regularly monitored and checked. 
 
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. We thank the 
NIO-RC, Visakhapatnam for the necessary 
laboratory support in petroleum hydrocarbon 
analysis. S.S. thanks DST, New Delhi for 
providing fellowship. 
 
Received 29 July 2013; revised accepted 3 
January 2014 
 
S. K. BALIARSINGH1,3,* 
SUBHASHREE SAHOO1 
ASUTOSH ACHARYA1 
H. B. DALABEHERA2 
K. C. SAHU1 
ANEESH A. LOTLIKER3 
 
1Department of Marine Sciences, 
Berhampur University, 
Berhampur 760 007, India 
2National Institute of Oceanography  
 Regional Centre, 
Visakhapatnam 530 017, India 
3Indian National Centre for Ocean  
 Information Services, 
Hyderabad 500 090, India 
*For correspondence. 
e-mail: sanjibakumar@gmail.com 
 
 
Figure 2. Petroleum hydrocarbon concentration at specified locations in different sectors of 
Chilika lagoon. 


Oil pollution in Chilika lagoon: An anthropogenic threat to biodiversity

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Oil pollution in Chilika lagoon: An anthropogenic threat to biodiversity

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