How fish farming is putting the lives of birds in serious danger

As a grey heron flies over a wetland some 60km from Delhi, it locates a fish in the waters. Using its avian instinct, the long-legged bird tries to take a
dip. But, before it can reach its prey, the heron gets entangled in a large trap net. The nylon nets have been placed all over the wetland without a thought for the health of the birds who flock to these parts.

Every time Rakesh Ahlawat, a resident of Dighal, visits the wetland here, he finds at least a handful of remains of big birds hanging in the nets, which are used for fish cultivation in the local water bodies.

"In the last three-four months, we have found carcasses of at least 100 birds. We have been running from pillar to post to get these fishing nets removed from the wetlands," Ahlawat told TOI. "With the help of the authorities, we managed to get some nets removed from wetlands in Rohtak, but these nets still pose a threat in other areas, including Jhajjar, which too has big wetlands."

This correspondent visited the marshes and found carcasses of six birds suspended inside the trap nets, which have been set up in an area encompassing more than 50% of the wetlands in Rohtak and Jhajjar. Here, half of the 130 water bodies — including village ponds and lakes — are covered by the nylon nets; in Dighal, two of the 10 creeks have been overlaid with the same. And it is the larger bird species, among them herons, cormorants, storks and cranes, that face more risk from the deadly nets.

Worryingly, not only does fish farming require nylon nets, it also entails the clearing of reeds from the lakes, a practice that leads to destruction of the habitat of many birds. But for the locals, pisciculture brings in much-needed money. "These nets protect the water bodies from birds that hunt fish from here, and removing the reeds is essential to make more space for fish farming," said a labourer hired by a fish-farming agency in Jhajjar.

Birders, however, maintain that fish farming in wetlands is illegal. Pankaj Gupta of Delhi Bird Foundation warns of ecological damage if "urgent" and "strict" action isn’t taken. "A lot of birds are dying unnatural deaths due to illegal fishing nets," Gupta pointed out.

And because the region is dotted with a good number of decent-sized bodies of water, it is a natural home for many species of birds, reminds Gupta. Yet, for the birders who gather in these biodiversity-rich spots every year, there might be no more rare species — or even common ones — to spot if violations continue to go unpunished.

The wetlands in Dighal have been identified as one of the ‘important bird and biodiversity areas’ by the Bombay Natural History Society, and are home to 263 bird species, which include both migrants and residents. Most wetlands in Jhajjar and Rohtak are spread across an area of around six to 10 acres, forming large stretches of water, and the species that live in families here depend on the grass and fish found in the marshland.