At Vembanad Fish Survey

My ancestral home is adjacent to backwaters but my awareness of freshwater ecosystem is quite limited so is the knowledge of issues related to Vembanad lake, probably because I haven’t spent too much time here. But that is not an excuse whatsoever, and I also know some houseboat owners who lack awareness of fragile nature of ecosystem nor elicit any keenness to know. Indeed there is a space for Naturalist to work in high end tourist houseboats, there is so much to explore here from fresh water, estuarian to marine species as also amazing diversity of avian species. Unfortunately Indian tourists are one of the least responsible or educated, subtleties of life tend to miss most Indians, and the more money they have the crass they come. Shows what kind of people market capitalism in mix with primitive nature of this society is nurturing in the name of development.

 Vembanad is the largest wetland system in the country that is also a Ramsar site. It is unique in many ways. Over the years it has degraded, indeed it started in 1820s with reclamation for paddy cultivation. Kuttanad being the rice bowl, uniquely located below sea level. This grew much urgent in 1940s with Burma crisis. There was a constant and persistent move of common property resource towards private hands. 1960s brought in chemical fertilizer and pesticide intensive green revolution which contributed to further degradation of the ecosystem. Thannermukkam bund (salt water barrier), major construction on the lake in 1970s, cordoned off the fresh water from marine. Thus preventing migration of aquatic species as also increasing siltation as the bund was kept closed due to farmer lobby. Profusion of hyacinths and clogging of major portion of riverine part of the lake can be traced to these events while eutrophication played its part. Next came backwater tourism, the number of houseboats is mindboggling as there is a stampede to cash in, and so begins damage due to solid waste disposal, specifically plastics irresponsibly disposed by tourists and locals (plastic from devotees at Sabarimala also floats into this lake), and appalling sanitation conditions that has brought diseases like dengue, chikungunya and rat disease (leptospirosis). The oft repeated story of economic prosperity through environmental degradation has negative impact on fragile ecosystem as also livelihood of fishermen.

It was with this background that I decided to participate in Vembanad fish survey 2018 -proclaimed as ‘democratic fish monitoring’, a motley group of experts and volunteers while I snugged in as ‘local resident’ to embolden the ‘democracy’ claim. Ostensibly a survey but it also aims to protect Vembanad ecosystem by creating inventory of fish diversity as also spreading awareness. Over the years they have been able to motivate to create ‘Lake protection forum’ as also mini fish sanctuary -an initiative by fisherfolks without any help from external agency (that seeks to provide breeding grounds for fishes through bamboo barricades). We were divided into three groups and assigned three regions, in these three region five spots were identified for sample collection. Three types of nets were used 1)Gill nets 2)Cast nets 3)Scoop nets. Cast net were of two types 35mm and 50 mm that were laid overnight while cast nets and scoop nets were applied 5times each in each location. The samples were collected, identified, parameters like weight and length noted. Our team was headed by ichthyologist Mr Anwar from KUFOS (Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies) who was extremely knowledgeable and passionate about his profession. He explained about each specie that was caught including scientific as well as local knowledge (including taste! The man surely knew his fishes), some went to the freezers while the rare to aldehyde for genetic sampling. He elaborated about whether the fish was herbivorous or carnivorous, sexual dimorphism (rare occasions when both male and female were caught) parental care fishes, parasites so on. Meanwhile some also studied the water samples. 

Catch per unit was calculated by measuring time. Mr. Anwar discussed about night diversity, and that one would find more catfish. Since it had rained most catch were fresh water fishes. He also narrated interesting anecdote related

to Green chromide aka pearl fish aka Karimeen, the state fish of Kerala, that the scientific name Etroplus suratensis has origin in Surat town in Gujarat where it is only an introduced specie, product of mistaken attribution by British ichthyologist. As also Green chromide has a unique symbiotic relation with Orange chromide (Pseudetroplus maculatus aka Pallathi) wherein it allows the later to devour its babies (fry) in return for removing parasites as Orange chromide specialise as ‘cleaner fish’. That should be some benchmark for utilitarianism! Highlight, atleast for me, was witnessing the smallest fresh water endemic fish in India: Horadandia brittani. Perky little adorable fish that one.

From our trip, that started at 6am and finished at 2.30pm, we were able to document 30odd fin fish and three shell fish. Quite an interesting day for me. I must mention I kept an eye open for birds too, as we navigated around luscious fruit bearing ‘suicide trees’(Cerebra odollam that kills atleast one person a day across this region and east asia), and not very surprisingly Stork-billed Kingfishers are in abundance. Before I conclude this blog I need to add a scene wherein acres of land, that had coconut trees and vegetable gardens, was reclaimed by lake through flooding. On the one hand it was hoary sight with dead trees spreading the horizon in a dystopian nightmare while it provided space for nesting avian population. A local farmer when asked said “There is a truth between earth and sky, it will find its way”.

Andersons of our time

There are money bags scouting poorer societies as investors -extolled as divine exotic species by market media, as saviours, while greedy corrupt politicians fall over each other to supplicate the new deity ensconced in traditional cultural pointers, the astounding deceit spontaneously acquires banality, indeed we are expected to, it is ordained. The money bags are god's way of informing us of copious blessings granted that we ordinary mortals have no option but to supplicate, and who else to take the lead but the elected representatives keen on sharing the blessing, the arduous task of doing for the sake of people. Economists and feudal positioners -working as gravy train gate keepers, authenticate it as beginning of economic development, the harbingers of prosperity. The GDP. Meanwhile it's beginning of misery for common people, first they will be threatened, offered some paltry incentives or else driven out. Money bags will land to exploit the ‘resources’ that took billions of years in making, rampaging the precious nature, fragile ecosystem and leave the environment polluted and degraded. As they grab and accrue their profits others are left to fend for themselves. In corrupt and nepotism driven crony capitalism there are no checks and balances, laws are subjective, human lives are cheap and environment not valued whatsoever. Mediocrity thriving Indian economic story is hinged on exploiting nature and fleecing huge population -desperate people in iniquitous society trapped and wallow in its own muck, and from these despicable frames arise the icons, greedy insipid constantly beckoning to snare.

Anil Aggrawal, Indian born but now typically NRI (I gather it is a lucrative move, you really don’t see Non-resident Britain in India do you?) is another of WarrenAndersons of our time that we have to endure, who are waiting for opportunity to blatantly exploit whatever can be monetised and wherever can be monetised while democratic institutions are severely compromised. Natural resources are common property and no one should be able to make such profit so as to become billionaires or even millionaires. It should be so taxed that major revenue must be go to the state and therefore to the welfare of the people. Unfortunately that doesn’t happen, and really cannot happen in a society that function in moral vacuum while protagonists scheme sickening self-righteousness as compensation. Lawyers and feudals stampede as economists and policy makers with keen sense of entitlements and how to trickle it down as requirements of fate. It is no wonder this society nurtures manipulators and scoundrels, and every town has its own success story doubling on misery to surrounding. Money therefore becomes sign of blessing, and the favour is returned by  much publicized and reverent action of filling up of hundi with gold and untold riches. The deity is favored as conniving policy makers and exploiters converge while squatters help keep a tag. This therefore percolates onto hapless people who crowd onto such sites as these are fed as sure signs of powerful god adept in dispensing blessing -so queue in, stampede and beg. Hence the irony of richest temples, poorest people and beggar minds playing catch up game in moral vacuum that percolates as attitudes and behaviors, hence as societal norms.

We don’t need charity of likes of Andersons or Aggrawals, what is needed is strict monitoring of exploitation of natural resources, equitable distribution of profits for the betterment of society and as a compensation for environment and ecosystem degradation. Natural resources cannot be private property of individuals to showcase their blessings and then patronize as charity. The audacity of Aggrawal to use state machinery to murder hapless people who were protesting against degradation of living space and immense hardship to their livelihood is a breaking point. Likes of him should be checked.                        

On a morning walk

On a morning walk

A primal world in the horizon

Is clasped, the keen sense

Cruising light years unlocks, in waiting moment.

A breeze is all that is felt on the canopy of acacia

The tiniest matter are brilliant henceforth

Ladybird on Caribbean blue-spike initiate meaning

Right back to the big bang, and nothing.

In the end, Nietzsche’s vivid mind

Beethoven’s keen ears

Borges’s insightful sight

Blue prints of memories etched in decaying neurons.