The 16th edition of the annual Vembanad fish count will begin on Monday. The two-day survey is conducted under the aegis of Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment-Community Environmental Resource Centre (ATREE-CERC) with financial assistance from the State Wetland Authority Kerala (SWAK).
As many as 100 people including members of ATREE-CERC, academics, researchers, and fishermen from across the country will participate in the count. An orientation programme for volunteers will be inaugurated by Suneel Pamidi, member secretary, SWAK at Karmasadan Pastoral Centre, Alappuzha, at 5 p.m. on Monday.
The fish count will take place on the southern (riverine), eastern, and western parts of the lake from 6 a.m. on Tuesday. The valedictory function will be inaugurated by M. Rosalind George, Vice-Chancellor, Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies, Kochi, at 3 p.m. The 2022 Vembanad fish count had recorded 48 species including 43 finfish species and five shellfish species.
