Dhanushkodi: Dead fish seen floating in backwaters

Dhanushkodi: Dead fish were seen floating in the backwaters besides Kothandaramaswamy Temple near Dhanushkodi, Rameshwaram, on Saturday morning. About three tonnes of fish were found dead at the backwaters.

Fishermen in the area said that the cause of deaths of the fish, locally known as Koi fish, may be attributed to the mixing of cold rainwater in the warm backwaters. Scientists from Mandapam Regional Centre of Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) and officials from the fisheries department examined the dead fish and identified them as ‘Koimeen’.

R Jayakumar, scientist in-charge, CMFRI, said the fish entered the lagoons en masse. The fish might have died of suffocation due to oxygen depletion when there was a rise in water temperature and in the absence of water current, he said.