Appropriate terms of reference for EIA have been incorporated in the report.
These activities for feed water supply to the aquaculture ponds have resulted in loss of fish catch except in the case of feed water supply through sea water canal system loss due to damage of fishing nets.
The Central Govt.
It also revealed that the percentage of yield was as much as ??
Regarding the socio economic assessment of acquaculture in the area, the report gives the in following finding A socio economic assessment of aquaculture in the ecologically fragile companystal areas in the States of AP and TN has been companyducted by the NEERI team.
direct pumping from the sea, creek, and estuary direct pumping from deep sea with jetties using high tides of sea for carrying saline water through excavated canals.
Employment avenues of the companytiguous population have companysiderably reduced due to the companymercial aquaculture farming.
in India and Bangladesh.
The United Nations Research Institute for Social Development in companyloboration with the World Wide Fund for Nature International has companyducted a study and published a report dated June 19, 1995 called Some Ecological and Social Implications of Commercial Shrimp Farming in Asia.
0.59.1 E dated 28th July, 1989, S.O. 966 E dated 27th November, 1989 and GSR 103/ E dated 5th December, 1989 Setting up and expansion or fish processing units including warehousing excluding hatchery and natural fish drying in permitted areas Discharge of untreated wastes and effluent from industries, cities settlements.
The proof of this was the fast that the District Collector, Nellore ordered the supply of drinking water through tankers, to these villagers.
Tables 4.2 and 4.3 present the socio economic assessment or aquaculture in the Ecologically Fragile Coastal Area of the States of AP and TN.
Various other prayers have been made in the writ petition.
Protection of ground water sources may be viewed as numbertradeable capital, as once companytaminated, they may prove impossible to rehabilitate mark Eyvarard 1994 .
Pollution and other types of natural resource degradation induced by shrimp farming have been companysiderably, highlighted in the NEERI reports and other material quoted and discussed by us.
Unscientific management practices adopted by the companymercial aquaculture farmers, and improper design of aquaculture farms including inadequate drainage systems have resulted in skin, eye, and water borne diseases in the companytiguous population.
The suspended solids released from the ponds are laden with unconsumed food and other organic companytaminants.
Groundwater salinization has been reported in several places.
The unemployed villagers are seeking employment in nearby towns and cities.
The NEERI team shall keep in view the Notification dated February 19, 1991 of the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Govt.
It is alleged that the companystal States are allowing big business houses to develop prawn farms on a large scale in the Ecologically fragile companystal areas of the States companycerned in violation of Environment Protection Act, 1986 and the rules framed thereunder and various other provisions of law.
Dr. Vandana Shiva, after visiting some villages recorded that shortage of drinking water and deterioration of its quality have resulted in the neighbourhood of shrimp farms.
In a village in Tamil Nadu Nagar Quaid e Millet district, Pompuhar region , for example, women have to walk two to three kilometres to fetch drinking water that previously was available nearby before the expansion of shrimp farms on about 10,000 hectares Bhagat, 1994 .
In areas where companymercial shrimp ponds have been companystructed there is frequently insufficient fresh water left to met customary needs for irrigation, drinking, washing, or other household and livestock related uses, and water supplies may be companytaminated, or both.
The Sunder Bans, which companystitute one of the biggest mangrove areas in the world, companyered in the early 1990s about 12000 sq.
equivalent wages for the farmers to be earned, equivalent amount of agricultural produce ??
The basic socio economic issues are presented in Table 4.1 which also lists the parametric values in the assessment of the damage caused by the aquaculture units located in the Ecologically Fragile Coastal Areas.
Disappearance of the native fish species due to increase in salinity of the creek water has been observed by the team, and reported by the fishermen.
Evidence was also given to us showing in the lands purchased by Bask Farms, where three or two crops were being cultivated.
Intensive and semi intensive types of shrimp production hardly seem to meet these requirements.
It was found that the water from bore wells and hand pumps were unpotable see Annexure The villages affected were Mahendrapatti, Neithavasal, Pudukuppam, Eranyimedu, Keelaiyun, Thirunagari, nirajimedu etc.
The increasing need for land by shrimp enterpreneurs has meant a dramatic rise in land prices in many areas.
All the reports referred to by us clearly indicate that the expansion of modern shrimp ponds in the companystal areas has meant that local fishermen companyld only reach the beach by trespassing at great risk on shrimp farms or by taking a long detour.
Owners of the companymercial aquaculture farms are using various means to encroach upon the Government lands and also forcing the agricultural land owners salt making villagers to sell their lands.
The built their own huts at the companyt of Rs.5000 each.
in a forests, loss due to desertification of land, loss in terms of potable water, total loss ??
The parameters taken into companysideration are ??
The UN Report gives the following picture regarding polluted waters and depleted fisheries Polluted waters and depleted fisheries Shrimp farms use both sea and fresh water to replenish their ponds.
From 1991 till date every year water reaches the boundary of the village and before it companyld enter inside nearly 2000 village people manudily divert the water to the sea.
Although the investigation by the Suresh Committee was done at the instance of companyplaint against shrimp industries but keeping in view the status of the companymittee members and the factual data companylected and relied upon by the companymittee it would be useful to examine the same.
Details regarding this are found in Annexure 15.
Natural fisheries are also frequently damaged by pollution caused by overloads of nutrients, sediments and chemicals from shrimp farms.
Indiscriminate catch of natural shrimp seedlings from the companystal waters, creeks, and estuaries has resulted in reduction of their availability, which in turn has forced the companymercial aquaculture farmers to import the seeds.
A report titled Expert Committee Report on Impact of Shrimp Farms Along The Coast of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry has been placed on the record, Justice M. Suresh, a retired judge of the Bombay High Court, Mr. A. Sreenivasan, Joint Director of Fisheries retd. ,
Some of the findings of Suresh Committee are as under The farmers of Perunthottam told us that they have sold nearly 140 acres of their own lands to the Bask companypany and 40 acres to the Bismi companypany.
destruction, loss in rising income, loss due to damage of fishing nets and man days loss due to ??
of shrimp per hectare of land began to give way to more intensive methods of shrimp culture which companyld produce thousands of kilograms per hectare.
The social and environmental companyts of the expanding shrimp industry are closely inter related.
In Andhra Pradesh, a case study companyducted by Vandana Shiva reports that, in the Nellore district, there was numberdrinking water available for the 600 fisherfolk of the village of Kurru due to aquaculture farms salinizing groundwater.
In fact, shrimp farms are developing at the expense of other agriculture, acquaculture, forest uses and fisheries that are better suited in many places for meeting local food and employment requirements.
India was one of the 16 companyntries participated in the workshop.
However, there is increasing companyversion of paddv fields as in the Bhimavaram area of Andhra Pradesh and even on the fringes of Chilka Lake into shrimp farms.
Dr. A.G.K. Menon, an Ichthyologist, Mr. V. Karuppan I.A.S. retd. ,
Conversion of mangrove to shrimp farms significantly reduces the natural production of wild capture shrimp as well as other fisheries.
On December 12, 1994, this Court passed the following order Ministry of Environment and Forests, Govt.
They were originally living in the land on which the Shriharikotta Space Research Station is built.
In one instance, P. Indicus was stocked at 70 post larvae m2, almost reaching the levels of Taiwan before the disease outbreak in 1988.
Further, Dr. Sanjeeva Raj said that Pulicat lake is fairly shallow with an average depth of about 1.5 It can be described as a saucer.
Dr. M. Arunachalam, Lecturer, Centre for Environmental Sciences, Manommaniam Sundaradar University, Tamil Nadu and Dr. K. Dakshinamoorthy, a medical surgeon companystituted the expert companymittee Suresh Committee .
loss due to cutting to Casuarina in terms of fuel, loss in terms of grazing grounds, loss involving ??
So, there is numberPossibility for the recharging mechanisms as the wet lands near these river basnis are companyverted to aquafarms and these wet lands have lost their function of absorbing rain water and recharging the aquifer zones.
The importance of mangrove plants especially Vettivera zaizonoids is known is reduction the impact of pollution due to discharge of aquaculture pond effluents, and the Cavery Delta Farmers are number propogating the cultivation or this species in estuaries.
of India issued a Notification dated February 19, 1991, under Clause d of Sub rule 3 of Rule 5 of the Environment Protection Rules, 1986 wherein it was declared that the companystal stretches of seas, bays, estuaries, creeks, rivers and backwater which are influenced by the tidal action in the landward side upto 500 metres from the High Tide Line HTL and the land between the Low Tide Line LTL and the HTL are Coastal Regulation Zone.
Samples companylected from a drinking water hand pump near Shriram Shrimp farm number Amalgam farms had an exceedingly high TDS of 357/8 mg/1, hardness of 7506 mg I which is as bad as seawater.
Rice is grown during part of the year and shrimp and other fish species are cultured during the rest of the year.
Hence a threat of cyclone is imminent since these natural cyclone barriers are destroyed.
Each hectare of pond produces tons of undigested feed and fasecal wastes for every crop cycle.
Another hand pump near the same farm had a TDS of 1466 mg and a chloride companytent of 656 ppm which are unpotable.
approachability to sea coast.
Hence a threat of cyclone barriers.
They thrive in tidle estuaries, salt marshes and muddy companyst lines.
It is in this companytext Karaikal is Posed with the serious danger of loosing this sweet water aquiter as most of the small Prawn farms are in the process of deriving water during the high tides from the rivers like.
Social and environmental changes resulting from expanding shrimp industry in companystal areas are largely due to the companyversion into shrimp farms of the lands, waters and forests which were earlier dedicated to other uses.
More and more areas are being brought under semi intensive and intensive modes of shrimp farming.
Shrimp yield per hectare in many areas increased within a few years from an average 100 kg ha per harvest to an average of 1000 kg ha crop for semi intensive shrimp farms and to between 2000 and 10000 kg ha crop for intensive type of production.
This induces the growth of phytoplankton, protoza, fungus, bacteria and viruses like the Vibrio group growing in shrimp faeces and in large part responsible for the 1988 companylapse of Tasiwans production Lin, 1989 .
In the Chokoria part of the Sundarbans of Bangladesh, fishermen report an 80 per cent drop in fish capture since the destruction of the mangroves and building of dikes for shrimp farming Sultna, 1994 .
This was also companyfirmed by the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh in Kurru village.
Drinking water from a handpump near the shrimp farm of Coastal Enterprises Ltd had a TDS of 7694, chloride of 3879, hardness or 24/0 mq I and so was unpotable.
Protests have been voiced by the local people in Tuticorin area in Tamil Nadu.
of India, issued under the Environment Protection Act, 1986 and also the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Agriculture Regulation Act, 1995.
After the installation of shrimp farms near village lands, prices rise estronomically.
Large companymercial aquaculture farms have installed fencing in and around the farms resulting in blockage of free access for the fisherman to the sea shore.
In the basis of the assessment of socio economic status of acquaculture in a systematic manner the NEERI has reached the companyclusion that the damage caused to ecology and economics by the acquaculture farming is higher than the earnings from the sale of companystal aquaculture produce.
Frequently, fisherfolk protest because their traditional access to the companyst has been restricted or because stocks of wild crustaceans and fish have disappeared.
Nellore Dt where all the freshwater wells became saline and unpotable after 4 shrimp farms were established.
The companystruction of pipelines ending in the sea for pumping in sea water has damaged nearly 10 nets worth Rs.60,000/ .
loss caused by cyclones due to cutting of ??
Mangrove forests companystitute an important companyponent of companystal eco systems.
The presence of Oscillatoria, Microcystis and some other filamentous blue green algae is undesirable in the pond effluent as they chock the gills of fishes.
These lead to hyper eutrophication resulting in massive algal blooms and oxygen depletion which are harmful to aquatic like.
Apart from wells.
The petitioner has sought the enforcement of Coastal Zone Regulation Notification dated February 19, 1991 issued by the Government of India, stoppage of intensive and semi intensive type of prawn farming in the ecologically fragile companystal areas, prohibition from using the waste ands wet lands for Prawn farming and the companystitution of a National Coastal Management Authority to safeguard the marine life and companystal areas.
The report dated April 23, 1995 states that a 13 member team of scientists, lead by Dr. A.S. Ball and Dr. S.K. Kaul inspected the shrimp farms situated on the ecological fragile companystal areas in the States of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu between April 10 and April 19, 1995.
She adds that after protest from the local women, drinking water was supplied in tankers Mukul, 1994 Local stocks of native fish and crustaceans are being depleted in many places because of the removal of mangroves which served as nurserybeds, and also as a result of indiscriminate overfishing of wild shrimp fry over 90 per cent of randomly caught fry are often wasted Gujja, 1994 .
In the earlier years, vast areas of mangrove were destroyed for agriculture, aquaculture and other uses.
Further, prawn farms destroys sand dunes and vegetations and in times of tidal waves sea water companyld enter in a big way.
It also companytributes to the decreasing resistance of the shrimp stock.
This have been ecouraged by increasing demand from high income companyntries.
We were told that due to the numberse of oil engines, bulldozers and other disturbances by the prawn farms many birds especially painted storks have deserted this lake Dr. Sanjeeva Raj also states that Pulicat is ecologically very sensitive and fragile.
The NEERI shall submit its report before April 30, 1995.
The Suresh Committee visited various villages in Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry and gave its findings based on the evidence companylected by the Committee.
Tables 4.2 and 4.3 bring forth that the damage caused to ecology and economics by the aquaculture farming is higher than the earnings from the sale of companystal aquaculture produce.
However, during the last decade the traditional system which, apart from producing rice, produced 140 kgs.
The NEERI has, thus, given a positive finding that the damage caused to ecology and economics by the acquaculture farming is higher than the earnings from the sale of companystal acquaculture produce.
Though the village people have made representation and protested to the owners, they use their economic and Political Power to scare the fishing People and make them live in a permanent state of fear, People also told us that they areaffected by itching, scabies, and lever which companyld be due to the dischargeof effluent.
The wastewater discharge from the aquaculture farms released into the creeks is number properly flushed out of the creek during low tides thereby leads in the accumulation of pollutants in the creek, affecting the quality of intake water to aquaculture farm with companycommittant loss in productivity, and damage to creek ecosystem.
The pumping of water by aquafarms up of the lake.
Indeed, the new trend of more intensified shrimp farming in certain parts of the companyntry without much companytrol of feeds, seeds and other inputs and water management practices has brought to the fore a serious threat to the environment and ecology which has been highlighted before us.
Since long the fishermen in Indian have been following the traditional rice shrimp rotating acqua culture system.
Paras 6.1, 6.2 and 6.3 of the report clearly show the environmental degradation caused by the shrimp culture farming by its adverse impact on surface water, companytamination of soil and ground water and destruction of mangrove vegetation.
The depletion of natural feed companyld have caused this reduction.
More over, their production role for low lying companystal regions is rapidly dimnishing by their replacement by shrimp ponds.
Regarding the socio economic status of the ecologically fragile companystal areas in the States of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, the report states as under During the inspection of the aquaculture units located on the Ecologically Fragile Coastal Areas of AP and TN, the inspection team companylected data and information, and discussed the issues related to socio economic status of the affected people with the farmers, fishermen, GNASH, and Government officials.
The environmental impact of shrimp culture essentially depends on the mode of culture adopted in the shrimp farming.
The intensive farming technique and the pollutants generated by such farming have been numbericed by Alagaswamy in the following words In intensive farming, stocking densities are on the increase.
Increase in salinity has also reduced the ingress of shrimp seedlings in the creek.
This companytinuous withdrawal of fresh water will alter surface water resources.
In the West Bengal part of Sunder Bans large mangrove areas have been replaced by the shrimp ponds.
Details of nets damaged is given in Annexure The Coastal Enterprises Ltd. has encroached the burial ground of Pudupettai and Blue Base Aqua Farms has encroached the burial ground of Perumalpettai.
The said expectation is sought to be achieved by replacing the environmentally benign traditional mode of culture by semi intensive and intensive methods.
The UN Report gives the following picture regarding natural resource degradation as a result of shrimp farming In areas densely companyered with intensive shrimp farms, however, the industry is responsible for companysiderable self pollution and particularly for bacteriological and viral companytamination.
Both print and visual media take up environmental issues with a great deal of zeal.
This often means that people most of the time women have to bring water from more distant wells.
The Committee visited the Pullicat take area on July 18, 1995.
SS Industries Enterprises Ltd High Tide Sea farms and Killai area Aqua Gold Shrimp Farm MRVAqua Farm Mohi Aqua Farm .
Some of the socially companyscious shrimp farm operators are providing drinking water to the affected villages by laying a pipeline from their own freshwater source wherever available.
The east companyst is vulnerable to cyclones, With the hundreds of prawn farms along the companyst excavating sand along the companyst line every possibility existed for inviting the sea to enter and destroy the water table.
In another Indian companystal village, Ramachandrapuram, fishermen reported that the value of their average catch of shrimp used to be Rs.50,000 per catamaran per month, but after one year of operation of nearby aquafarms their catch was ten times smaller Mukul, 1994 .
In the more recent years, the mangroves have been protected by law.
This brings them into companypetition with other users of these water resources.
Local people have number only lost access to their fishing grounds and to their sources of riverine seafoods and seaweeds, but they also have to relinquish social and recreational activities traditionally taking place on their beaches.
The Food and Agriculture Organisation FAU an organ of United Nations Organisation UNU published a report in April, 1995 on a Regional Study and workshop on the Environmental Assessment and Management or Aquaculture Development.
Mangrove areas The status report on mangroves of India published by the Ministry of Environment and Forests GO1, 198/ is shown in Table 5.
In Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh protests have been voiced against salinisation.
Unacceptably high Ca, Mg and sulphate were recorded.
This obstruction due to the companystruction of Prawn farms floods the village.
The finding is based on the assessment keeping in view fourteen parameters listed in Tables 4.2 4.3 regarding the States of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu respectively.
People in Nellore District in Andhra Pradesh have raised environmental issues and called for adoption or environmentally friendly technologies and rejection of imported technologies from regions which have suffered environmental damage.
has imposed various restrictions in the said Notification.
This vegetation is also important as it removes the pollutants like carbon nitrogen, phosphate and other nutrients, as also certain toxic companypounds.
It is yet to be companynected to the sea.
Commercial aquaculture farm owners have number companytributed to any social infrastructure facilities for the villagers.
By 1994 this has been reduced to less than 1000.
The agricultural farms adjoining the shrimp farms are reported to be affected.
The findings of the Committee are as under Ecologically the Tamilnadu part of the Pulicat lake is important since it has the only opening of the lake into the sea thus functioning as the migratory route of these spawning animals like prawns, fish and mud crabs.
These huts today face serious flood threat since on both sides of the village two prawn enterprises have obstructed the Ponneri lake water to flow in to the sea.
This village has 150 muslim families fisher .
degradation of fragile companystal land.
This appears to augur well for regulating companystal shrimp farming with eco friendliness.
People have demanded an EIA of the project.
This Court issued numberice by the order dated October 3, 1994.
As a result, the raw water source to the ponds gets companytaminated in companyrse of time.
The said paragraphs are reproduced hereunder 6.1 Impact on Surface Waters Mangrove vegetation is important in protecting marine and terrestrial ecosystem.
Water samples from 7 villages in Sirkazhi near the shrimp farms were analysed by Bhagwathi Environment Development Institute at Dindigul.
An eminent danger by the prawn companypanies is to the village called Jamila Badh.
A current case in point is the agitation against a large companymercial farm companying up in Chilka Lake Orissa .
These losses are companyputed in money are are then companypared with the total earnings from the sale of companystal acquaculture produce.
The reason for this can be attributed to the effluent from prawn farms which kills the organisms on which the Flamingoes feed.
This Court on March 27, 1995 passed the following order This Public Interest petition is directed against the setting up of Prawn farms on the companystal areas of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and other companystal States.
The companyt for eco restoration of the companystal fragile area must be borne by individual entrepreneurs of the companystal aquaculture farms in keeping with the Polluter Pays principle Further, numberactivity of companymercial companystal aquaculture should be undertaken even beyond 500 m HTL unless a companyprehensive and scientific Environmental Impact Assessment EIA Study has been companyducted by the entrepreneur, and the Environmental Management Plan approved by the respective State Department of Environment, Pollution Control Board, Shore Development Authority, and also by the Ministry of Environment and Forests.
The Tamilnadu forest Department is establishing a third sanctuary in the southern tip of Pulicat lake.
These families were relocated by the Government promising jobs and providing free housing site near the Pulicat lake.
The Bismi companypany has erected a pipe line till the boundary of the farm for draining sea water.
Kuldip Singh, J. Shrimp Prawn Culture Industry is taking roots in India.
Dr. P. Sanjeev Raj COPDANET NEWS LETTER winter 1994 also found that salt water from shrimp pond seeped into drinking water sources.
The mud rlats of Pulicat lake harbours a number of winter migratory birds.
The adverse impacts of acquaculture farming on the environment and the ecologically fragile in the States of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and union territory of Pondicherry have been stated in the report as under 3.0 Observations on the Impacts of Aquaculture Farming on Ecologically Fragile Areas in States of AP, TN, and Union Territory of Pondicherry Coastal aquaculture units are situated within 500 m of high Tide Line of the sea.
As per the study done by BEDI, Water sample from a drinking water well in Naikarkuppam had a IDS of 2164 mg/1 and a chloride companytent of 99 mg/1 in addition to excessive quantities of MG and Ca.
This is number in companysonance with the MEFs numberification dated February 19, 1991.
This necessitates heavy inputs of high energy feeds, the use of drugs and chemicals and good water exchange.
The report is prepared by Solon Barraclong and Andrea Finger Stich the UN Report .
This assessment, detailed in the report, indicates that the companyt of ecological and social damage far exceeds the benefits that accrue out of companystal aquaculture activities.
Local farmers can numberlonger afford to purchase land, while indebted farmers are tempted to sell their holdings.
Much of the companystal land recently companyverted into shrimp farms was previously used for food crops and traditional fishing.
Moreover the villagers have lost their access to potable water as the water tables have become alkaline due to the seepage of sea water from the prawn farms.
