Idukki: The Fisheries Department will conduct an inquiry into the death of a certain number of fingerlings that were deposited in the reservoir of the Aanayirangal Dam as a part of a state-wide project to increase fish wealth in dam waters. As many as two lakhs of fish seeds were deposited in the dam on Thursday.
Fisheries officers in Idukki said a team from their sub-office conducted a preliminary inquiry on Saturday.
“Wherever you drop the fingerlings in large quantities, there is a possibility of up to 20 per cent of them dying. In the preliminary assessment, only five per cent of them have died in Aanayirangal,” Anilkumar A G assistant director of Fisheries who is in charge of the operations of the department in Idukki told Onmanorama.
He said that further inquiries would be conducted into the matter and if necessary the department would consider depositing more fish seeds in the dam as a part of its schemes to improve the fish population in reservoirs for the sake of improving the livelihood of the fishing communities that catches fish from dams by availing special licence.
Anilkumar said the scheme is being implemented throughout the state. In the Idukki district, as many as 20 lakh fish seeds would be deposited in four dams. “In Irattayar Dam, 3.5 lakh seeds have been deposited and the number of fingerlings that died there is negligible. Fingerlings will also be deposited in Ponmudi and Mattupetti dams,” he added.
Agency for Development of Aquaculture Kerala (ADAK), under the department, sources the fish seeds for the project from private parties through tendering.
Fish varieties of Catla, Rohu, and Mrigal are being deposited in the reservoirs, said officers in the department.
