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Shrimp farms as a threat to mangrove forests in Kannur district of Kerala, India

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Abstract

Mangroves are one of the most productive, diverse ecosystems on the planet and serve as a protective barrier for coastal areas. Shrimps have a productive correlation with mangroves habitat, thereby large-scale shrimp farming pose a serious threat to mangroves ecosystems. The present study was carried out to estimate the total area under shrimp farming in the intertidal regions of Kannur district. From the study, we have documented 140 shrimp ponds, which contributes to a total area of 524.4 ha. We found that active shrimp farming area in the district is 524.4 ha in 2020. The traditional shrimp farming method accounts for 60.6% of the total farmed area while non-traditional shrimp farming accounts for 36.9% of the total farmed area; both types are expanding fast in the district. Of the five major Rivers in the district, Kuppam River has the majority of the shrimp farms followed by Dharmadam River. Penaeus monodon, Litopenaeus vannamei and Penaeus indicus are the shrimp species cultivated in the district. Since shrimp farms are created by replacing the mangrove habitats in the intertidal region, mangroves of Kannur district are under threat and needs serious intervention for long term survival.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge Kannur Kandal Project of Wildlife Trust of India and Apollo Tyres. The authors are grateful also to the Department of Geography-Kannur University, Kerala Fisheries department and Agency for the Development of Aquaculture in Kerala (ADAK). Also, sincere thanks to Aiswarya V V, MSc. student of the Department of Environmental Science, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore and Mohammed Shanid, MSc. student, Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Pondicherry University. The authors also thank Ms. Navya K K, PhD scholar, Kerala Forest Research Institute and Mr. Sachin Chandran, PhD scholar, Payyanur College for their inputs.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, School of Life Science, Pondicherry University, Kalapet, Puducherry, 605014, India

    P. Bijith & T. Megha

  2. Wildlife Trust of India, F13, Sector8, Noida, NCR, 201301, India

    M. Ramith

  3. Department of Geography, Kannur University, Payyanur Campus, Edat, Kannur, Kerala, 670327, India

    K. P. Shimod

  4. Department of Plant Biology and Plant Biotechnology, Madras Christian College, Chennai, 600059, India

    M. N. Pradeep

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  1. P. Bijith
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  2. M. Ramith
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  4. K. P. Shimod
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  5. M. N. Pradeep
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Contributions

Conceptualization, RM; methodology, RM.; BP.; software, SKP; validation, BP, RM, MT; formal analysis, BP, RM; investigation, BP, PMN; data curation, BP; writing-original draft preparation, BP, MT, PMN; writing-review and editing, RM, BP, SKP; project administration, RM; All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to P. Bijith.

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Bijith, P., Ramith, M., Megha, T. et al. Shrimp farms as a threat to mangrove forests in Kannur district of Kerala, India. Wetlands Ecol Manage 30, 1281–1289 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-022-09896-y

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