BHUBANESWAR: The state government has started work on formulating a comprehensive fisheries policy for Chilika Lake, Asia’s largest brackish water lagoon, to safeguard its fragile eco-system.
The policy will focus on regulating fishing practices, preventing over-exploitation of aquatic resources and promoting sustainable livelihoods for the fishing communities around the lake.
The policy is being prepared by the Fisheries department with the help of former advisor to the Ministry of Earth Sciences V Sampad. Sampad has already handed over the preliminary report to the department and based on his recommendation, inputs related to formulation of the policy have also been received from officials of other departments concerned. They are being examined for drafting the final policy, sources said.
The policy proposal will soon be submitted to the state government for approval. The move assumes significance in the wake of growing demand for enactment of the Odisha Regulation of Fishing and Fisheries in Chilika Bill which has been pending for over eight years now. The Bill aims to protect the delicate ecosystem of the lake and fishermen community of the lagoon from illegal prawn culture.
Considering the long-standing demand of the conservationists and fishermen and the directives of the Orissa High Court, the state government had approved the proposed Odisha Regulation of Fishing and Fisheries in Chilika Bill, 2017 to take on the illegal prawn farming in the lagoon and vest the fishing lease power with the Chilika Development Authority (CDA). Though the Bill was tabled in the state Assembly a few times, it was pushed to the cold storage subsequently.
Environmental experts have long warned that unregulated fishing activities, coupled with illegal prawn farming and other human activities in and around Chilika is threatening its ecological balance. The proposed policy, however, could help balance the fishing activities and long-term conservation plan of the lake that supports several marine species and migratory birds, officials said.