Hudhud brings more fish to Vizag

• Cyclone Phailin too increased marine life in the Bay of Bengal
• Exact increase of fish after Hudhud needs to be assessed
• Cyclones churn in the sea increase nutrient zones
• Nutrient zone attracts shoals of a variety of fish
• Sighting of bottleneck dolphins points to rise in fish populace

Visakhapatnam: Cyclone Hudhud, which has left a trail of destruction across Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, has done some good to the fisherfolk. The strong cyclonic storms, which reached to a maximum of 260 kmph speed, churned the Bay of Bengal had a positive impact on the marine life.

Recent studies have indicated that cyclone Phailin, which hit the coast last year around same time, had increased the fish production in the Bay. The same trend is expected now. “It is not true that Hudhud had adverse impact on the marine life,’’ said Shubhadeep Ghosh, a senior scientist and in-charge of the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute. “Less catch is because fishing activity got decreased,” he added. The studies of impact of Phailin proved an increase in marine life. It would take some time to assess the quantum of increase after Hudhud. “It will take six months to study the impact of the Hudhud cyclone on the coast. Surprisingly, we found that the fish production had doubled in the Bay off Odisha and north Andhra coasts after Phailin crossed last year,’’ Ghosh said.

The cyclones churn the waters bringing up the nutrients from the bottom of the sea to the surface. The plankton, diverse group of organisms which form crucial source of food for all varieties of fish, attracts mackerel and sardines into this nutritional zone. They in turn attract the big fish.

The recent sighting of bottleneck dolphins is an indication for the presence of vast quantities of yellow fin tuna fish not very far from the Visakhapatnam coast.

Ghosh said there was no fishing activity after October 12, the day Hudhud struck the coast, till end of the first week of November. The fishing activity began recently with fewer boats venturing into the sea. On an average, the catch on the AP coast is around 3 lakh tonnes per annum. Visakhapatnam comprising Lawson’s Bay, Bhimili and Pudimadaka points fetch an average of 70,000 tonnes. “Probably the present catch could be less to prompt people to think that the cyclone had driven the fish deep into the Ocean, which is not true,” said Ghosh.