Fishes found dead in large numbers in Valsad village

SURAT: Fish in large numbers were found dead on the shore of Arabian Sea near Magod Dungri village in Valsad district on Sunday. The grey mullets, locally known as boi, are very popular among the local fishermen community. The incident has made many despondent as fishing is the main vocation of the people here and the fishermen community have been taking steps to maintain the ecological balance in the region.However, for the last many years, fish of different species are being washed ashore in south Gujarat, particularly at the beginning of the monsoon season.
Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) and forest department have been so far unable to find out the exact reason behind this. However, people of Magod Dungri allege that fish have been dying in large numbers because of discharge of industrial effluents directly into the sea.
"Villagers were shocked to see the dead fish. Boi is the lifeline for many in the coastal areas. The fish have been dying in large numbers because of discharge of untreated industrial waste into the sea. The authorities have failed to take any preventive action. The polluted water first kills the boi fish which are found in the coastal waters. The marine ecology on which thousands of fishermen here depend has been disturbed," sarpanch of Magod Dungri Premila Tandel said.
GPCB officials collected samples of the dead fish and also water from the coastal area of the district. GPCB will carry out tests on the samples to find out the cause of the death of the fish. Regional head of GPCB, Vapi, Anil Patel was not available for his comments.
"The GPCB officials come here, but do not give a clear cut report for the reason behind the death of the fish in large numbers. Neither have they taken any action so far to prevent such incidents," a fisherman from Valsad Manoj Tandel said.