KARAIKAL: A 19-year-old fisherman died on Monday allegedly after inhaling the pungent smell of decayed fish. B Sakthivel from Kilinjalmedu died in a hospital after inhaling the gas emitted from a rotten fish while four others who accompanied him are recovering.
According to sources, five fishermen went to the Karaikal fishing harbour on October 10 to unload fish from their mechanized boat. All of them fainted as soon they entered the fish hold area and were later taken to the Karaikal general hospital.
Four of the fishermen, J Madhavan, A Sathish, N Sasitharan, and T Arunkumar are recovering from the inhalation injury. However, Sakthivel was referred to a private hospital in Tiruchy because the doctors stated that he was suffering from Tracheal Stenosis.
Officials suspect that the fishmen may have added some chemical to the fish hold to control the stench. The fishes were allegedly, already three-days old as on October 10. The officials said the fishermen did not add sufficient ice to the ‘trash fish’, because such fish (also known as ‘By-catch’) are not edible and are used as poultry feed or for the production of fish oil.
The officials also said that the fishermen generally add ice to the main catch rather than the by-catch, to save ice. They also suspect that Methane or Hydrogen Sulfide from the stench, mixed with the chemical added to the fish, could be responsible for the incident.
The fisheries department said Sakthivvel’s family was eligible for compensation. Since Sakthivel’s death is the first of its kind, the department is also sending out instructions and advisories to prevent any such cases in the future.
The department has advised fishermen to limit trash fishes in their nets to reduce the need to preserve them. "Letting fish decompose could trigger a chemical reaction with added preservatives or any nether chemical. It is not advisable to catch trash fishes above 25 per cent of their catch.
The fishermen are advised to limit the number of by-catch or trash fishes, by increasing the mesh size to around 40 mm. If they get more than that percentage, they should add more ice to their stock to avoid the decomposition of the fishes” said R Kaviarasan, deputy director of the fisheries department in Karaikal.