Threats and human influence on coastal ecosystem of Southern India

Abstract

Populations of the majority of fish species showed drastic reduction over the past five decades in west coast of India. We conducted an intensive study of Aghanashini estuary for water quality and fish diversity in west coast of India. Coastal ecosystems are impacted by many stressors and are continually subjected to threats from multiple stresses imposed mostly by human activities predominantly as a result of increased population growth in India. The most significant categories of threats derive from water pollution from numerous sources including thermal effluents, heavy metals, oil, sewage, pesticides, pulp mills, habitat loss and degradation, overexploitation, eutrophication and misguided human perceptions. Wide array of prohibited fishing methods are rampant by using of insecticides as poisons, destruction and modification of habitats, dynamiting, using chemical and herbal poisons. Due to deteriorated water, quality from anthropogenic activities fish diversity has drastically reduced. In complex coastal ecosystems, strategies for restoration can become equally complicated.