Water hyacinth posing threat to cage fish farming; KVK creates awareness among fish farmers

Kochi: While water hyacinth (Eichhornia crasippes) is increasingly posing threat to cage fish farming enterprises in the backwaters, the Ernakulam Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) has stepped in to create awareness on this menace among the fish farmers in the district.

Unlike the usual trend of decaying by October, this time the aquatic plant is still seen rampant in the backwaters following extended monsoon and release of water from dams. Normally, it dominates the water body during July to August along with Monsoon run-off water and begins to decay as the salinity levels in the waters increase.

“The plant emerges a threat mostly to cage aquaculture as it considerably reduces water flow in fish cages installed in the backwaters and thereby the oxygen level is reduced in farms leading to fish kill. This is a troubling situation for the fish farmers who heavily depend on cage farms as their lone livelihood option”, said Dr Shinoj Subramanian, Head of KVK. Water hyacinth also acts as a breeding ground for parasites and other hazardous organisms that cause diseases to fish, he added.

In order to tackle this issue, the KVK functioning under the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) launched an awareness campaign on ill-effects of water hyacinth on fish production and the method of removing them from the water bodies. In line with the campaign and as part of Swatchtha Pakhwada, a massive cleaning drive was conducted at Ezhikkara by engaging young fish farmers to remove the plants from an area of 2 acres.