Ban fishing in city lakes, protect ecology: Bengaluru activists urge authorities

Lake activists in the city have urged authorities to ban fishing activities in waterbodies to preserve their ecology.

They have pointed out that fishing adversely affects the habitat of migratory birds, whose numbers have declined in the lakes of Bengaluru.

“For easy fishing, (those fishermen) remove weeds that support nesting of birds and this will result in a decrease in birds migrating to the lakes,” said Soundarajan Rajagopalan, a member of the Doddakallasandra lake committee.

Raghavendra B Pachhapur of NGO ActionAid said fishing activities can be very frightening and even harm birds. “Fishermen use a host of ideas to clear the water for fishing. Bursting crackers and other such means will scare away the birds,” he said.

“We have also seen instances where birds have been caught in the nets that have been abandoned. The nets are made of nylon threads and the birds could even die when they are caught in them,” Pachhapur added.

Lake activists and regular visitors said the Puttenahalli lake in Yelahanka attracts 136 species of birds, while Puttenahalli Puttenakere at JP Nagar hosts at least 120 species. “It is important that we ensure biological diversity and don’t drive them away,” Rajagopalan said.

Pachhapur urged authorities to strike a balance between fishing and ecological conservation.

“We agree that there is a community that depends on fishing and it is important that we ensure their livelihood is not affected. The authorities should monitor fishing activities closely and ensure the practices followed do not harm biodiversity,” he said. He suggested that fishing activities could be allowed in lakes spread over 15 hectares.