The Effect of Sea Food Processing Discharge on the Nearby Wetlands in Cherthala-Aroor-Edakochi Coastal Belt of Kerala, India

Effluents from the sea food processing plants discharged into the water bodies may cause eutrophication. This study has been carried out to assess the impact of effluent discharge on water quality and phytoplankton population in Vembanad-kol wetland adjacent to seafood processing industries. Five stations were selected in the Cherthala-Aroor-Edakochi coastal belt of Vembanad lake, four were near to the seafood processing facilities, and the fifth station was kept as a reference site, which is free from the direct seafood processing effluent discharge. Samples were collected on monthly for a period of one year (October 2011 to September 2012) for physico-chemical and biological analysis. The higher level of salinity, alkalinity, hardness, BOD, COD, nitrate, phosphate, ammonia, silicate and depleted level of dissolved oxygen indicated the pollution status of study stations (S₁-S₄) compared to reference site (S₅). Among the 137 genera of phytoplanktons, Bacillariophyceae was the major class followed by Chlorophyceae and Cyanophyceae. In addition to this, the class Rhodophyceae, Chrysophyceae, Haptophyceae, Eustigmatophyceae and Cryptophyceae were also reported. Percentage composition and biological indices of the phytoplanktons were assessed. The pollution tolerant genera like Navicula, Nitzschia, Scenedesmus, Coscinodiscus, Ankistrodesmus, Chlorella, Oscillatoria, Phormidium, etc. were dominant in the four stations (S₁-S₄) during the study period. This baseline information on the water quality status of Vembanad lake will be useful for future ecological assessment and monitoring to conserve this Ramsar site.