The farms in Bihar, Tamil Nadu and Orissa posed the most threat to the environment
An analytical study of aquaculture farms carried out across 10 Indian states has found evidence of hazardous levels of metals, as well as severe violations of food safety, public health, and animal welfare and environmental standards.
They studied about 250 shrimp and fish farms across 9 highest producing states and one Union Territory: fresh and brackish water farms in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Pondicherry, Orissa and West Bengal, and freshwater farms in Jharkhand, Bihar, Assam and Chattisgarh.
Tamil Nadu had the worst water quality in fish farms, while West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Pondicherry showed high-level public health hazards. The farms in Bihar, Tamil Nadu and Orissa posed the most threat to the environment.
The study found fish farms having high levels of cadmium and lead contamination. Both these metals upon consumption of fish, can pass to humans and cause long term damage.
A majority of fish farms even faced the problem of nitrogen overdose, as a result of nonexistent or negligible waste management systems, leading to low oxygen levels in the water and algae growth. It was also found that many fisheries dump their waste in nearby rivers and water bodies, thus directing the polluted water back into the system for human use.
Moreover, the study found contamination via human defecation in some of the fish farms. In Tamil Nadu, researchers observed people bathing in and around fish farms using soaps. Waste dumps near or inside fish farms were found in Bihar and Bengal.
