Scientists warn of plastic pollution in seawater

Panaji: The ICAR-Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute (ICAR-CIFRI), Vadodara Research Station is undertaking an institutional project to study and document the fish biodiversity in the Mandovi-Zuari estuary.
Under a special campaign of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan with a focus on sanitation and solid waste management, scientists recently ran an awareness programme on the impact of plastic waste pollution in aquatic ecosystems at Vittozem Piedade village, Divar island.
About 20kg of plastic wastes dumped along the 200m stretch of the Mandovi riverbank in the village was collected with the help of 20 people from the village and handed over to the panchayat for disposal.
Leading the initiative, Vaisakh G, scientist, Fisheries Resource Management, ICAR-CIFRI, emphasised on the critical impacts of plastic wastes on the aquatic biodiversity and the need for spreading awareness among the public for controlling plastic pollution.
Sarpanch of Goltim-Navelim panchayat, Mario Pinto emphasised on the seriousness of plastic pollution in the Mandovi and its negative effect on the declining fish catch in the area.
“The ICAR-CIFRI should conduct such awareness programmes on a larger scale in the future,” he said.
ICAR-CIFRI focuses on knowledge-based management of inland open waters for sustainable fisheries, conservation of aquatic biodiversity, integrity of ecological services and to derive social benefits from these waters.