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Time of India
6 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Plastic pellets from sunken ship mar Kovalam beaches
Thiruvananthapuram: Plastic pellets, known as nurdles, from the containers of the Liberian cargo vessel MSC ELSA 3, which sank off Thottappally in Alappuzha on May 25, have started accumulating on the beaches of Kovalam, where the land juts out into the sea. This has also triggered a kind of foam, and fishermen and stakeholders in the hospitality industry have raised concerns that the state govt has not taken measures to clear them and prevent them from coming to the beach. Plastic pellets and white foam have filled the famed Ashoka Beach over the past two days. As they are difficult to clear, the tonnes of pellets threaten to mar the experience of beachgoers at one of the famous tourism spots in the state. Robert Panipilla of Friends of Marine Life said the "Mukham Kodimana," a piece of land that juts into the sea near Kovalam, would capture most of the plastic pellets as the water current and wind flow is from north to west. He said the pellets were getting washed back into the sea and getting submerged in the sands, which will create trouble in the coming years. Kovalam, meanwhile, is now getting more visitors who want to enjoy the monsoon. "This will create a pollution problem in the coming years. It's unfortunate that the govt is not taking steps to clear the pellets," Panipilla said, adding that they could affect tourists if not prevented. There are environmental concerns as well, as these pellets are particularly hazardous to marine life. "The short-term environmental impacts include ingestion by marine animals as nurdles look like fish eggs and are easily consumed by fish, turtles and seabirds, leading to intestinal blockages and starvation. Nurdles can accumulate in sand and estuaries, suffocating benthic organisms and reducing biodiversity. The long-term impacts include toxic chemical absorption, and they absorb pollutants like PCBs, PAHs, and DDT from seawater, becoming toxic pellets. Over time, nurdles break into micro- and nano-plastics, entering food chains and human diets," marine biologist and Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (Kufos) vice-chancellor A Biju Kumar said. The pellets were earlier reported to have been found in large numbers along Kochu Veli, Thumba and Vettukad. The vessel, carrying 640 containers, sank around 14.6 nautical miles off Thottappally, and 13 of these containers contained hazardous materials like calcium carbide and hydrazine-based plastics. The state govt earlier declared the shipwreck a state-specific disaster and initiated a comprehensive clean-up operation. An expert panel of specialists in marine science and environmental response was also convened to guide long-term efforts.
Time of India
14-05-2025
- Science
- Time of India
Tiger shark population faces decline: Study
Kochi: Even as India urges researchers to identify and establish its biodiversity information, several species are either on the brink of extinction or entering the near-threatened categories. Recent studies by fisheries scientists of the Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (Kufos) raised concerns about the dwindling populations of shark species in the Indian Ocean. The studies, which looked at the iconic tiger sharks ( Galeocerdo cuvier ), flagged concerns about global decline and called for shark conservation population of the tiger shark is in a state of global decline, with the species assessed as 'Near Threatened' on the IUCN Red List . Despite this, there is a lack of fundamental information required for regional management, such as those on life history and ecology."We looked at the population dynamics of G. cuvier in the Arabian Sea, which is one of the world's most important shark fishing regions. Length-frequency data of G. cuvier landed at Cochin over 16 months in 2023–2024 revealed the dominance of the 180–240cm length class, with the largest individual measuring 405cm long. Almost 95% of younger adults are caught and they are coming in as bycatch, contributing to 23% of the shark landings," said Rajeev Raghavan, aquatic biologist and faculty at the Kufos department of fisheries resource management.A total of 264 species of sharks and rays are known from the Western Indian Ocean (WIO), of which 43% are threatened. Some parts of the WIO are more significant for shark fisheries, such as the Arabian Sea, which harbours 15% of the described chondrichthyan species of the world, more than half of which are threatened. Close to 98% of the tiger sharks that landed at Cochin during the study period were the targets of commercial fishery using baited longline, while the remaining 2% were bycatch originating from gillnet and trawl fisheries."We need to bring in the tiger shark conservation zones. Unlike the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission, which looks at the entire tuna catches across the world, shark conservation does not have such a body. Some countries have banned tiger shark catches. Since it is not banned in India, our fishermen go to far-off deep-sea waters to catch them. The fact that they must go far to catch these species is an indication of dwindling numbers," Raghavan said.
