It looks like the Godavari water released from Pattiseema has changed the ecology of the river Krishna with the invasion of a killer fish called sailfin catfish (Pterygoplichthys species). For the last few days, fishermen in Krishna district are at their wits’ end as hundreds of dead fish lined the banks of the Krishna river along the Durga Ghat in Vijayawada. Reports of fish kill have also come in from Pavitra Sangamam, the confluence of river Krishna and the river Godavari. Not only is this killer fish preying on the aquatic life of the Krishna river, but also causing panic among fishermen by ripping off their nets. “The new species of fish that has entered the river has spikes on its body. It is black in colour. The fish tore our nets off when we tried to remove them,” said G Babu, a fisherman. Another fisherman said the fish even injured a few of them when they tried to catch them. “Some of us were bitten and others were left bruised due to the sting. We incurring huge losses as this species is eating away the local varieties. It is also damaging our fishing equipment,” he added. While there is no information on the quantity of fish that has been killed so far, the fishermen claim that most of the fish they caught in the last four days were damaged. The fishermen suspect that the killer fish entered the Krishna through the right canal of Polavaram project (Pattiseema) as they first noticed dead fish on June 21. Incidentally, water from the Godavari had reached the Krishna on July 17. “We noticed it when foul smell engulfed the banks a few days ago. We had to throw away most of the fish as they are not edible. As it is, we earn only a few hundred rupees a day and now we are losing even that. Officials should help us,” they said. Officials too said the killer fish might have entered the Krishna through the Godavari link channel.
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