The demolition of prawn dykes has resulted in an increase in shrimp and fish catch in the Chilika lake. Chilika Development Authority officials had started clearing encroachment from 152sqkm in the lake area in June last year and completed it earlier this month. The catch of black tiger shrimp, commonly known as bagada chinguri, stood at 201.51 tonnes and 350.59 tonnes in October and November, respectively. The authority officials said the catch of black tiger shrimp in November was an all-time record in the history of lake. The black tiger shrimp of the lake is among the most-sought shrimps in the state, and it is also exported. Dykes made up of nets used to affect the movement of fish and shrimps apart from reducing the fishable area in the lake. The eviction drive let the shrimps escape in the lake from the blocked gherries. The shrimps also got better hydrobiological movement, feeding and better growth that led to the enhancement in the shrimp catch,” said additional chief executive of the authority Sasmita Lenka. It had undertaken the eviction drive in June after getting the authorisation to conduct it on its own through the Odisha Marine Fishing Regulation Act, 1981. The total catch of fish, prawn and crab from the lake had stood at 1,434 tonnes in October last, and the value of the catch is estimated more than Rs 2 crore. “The cumulative fish catch between April and October last year was 13 per cent more than the same period in 2016. The free lake area will also help mud crabs grow. The removal of gherries has also encouraged local fishermen to use tradition traps instead of nets to catch fish,” said Lenka. Around two lakh people depend on fishing from the lake in three districts of Khurda, Puri and Ganjam. A survey conducted by the authority on last Saturday found the presence of 155 Irrawaddy dolphins, a Schedule-I animal under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. The officials said the eviction had led to sighting of the Irrawaddy dolphins at Rambha in Ganjam district last year after a gap of more than three decades.