Opening of Bund increases seafish catch

ALAPPUZHA: The opening of the Thanneermukkom Bund has apparently increased the seafish count in the Vembanad Lake, according to fishermen who ventured into to the lake on Wednesday.Malabar trevally (Vatta) was among their catch, while Chundan koori was also spotted in the lake.“During the March-April months, the lake used to be abundant with fishes like prawns (chemeen), false trevally (parava), blacktip sea catfish(eatta), sting ray (thirandy) and other varieties.The continuous closure of the bund has created ecological imbalances and prevented the breeding of fishes,” said Vembanad Samrakshna Samithi president K M Poove.Crabs were very common in the lake.Nowadays no crabs are found.If the farming in the Kuttanad regions will be unified, the closure of the bund will last only two months, he said.But the farming in the Upper Kuttanad begins in October-November and in the Lower Kuttanad begins at the end of December.This is a reason for the increase in the pollution of the lake, Poove pointed out.