World’s first fishing cat census done in Chilika

World’s first fishing cat census done in Chilika

Chilika Lake

• Chilika Lake is a brackish water lagoon, spread over the Puri, Khurda and Ganjam districts of Odisha state on the east coast of India, at the mouth of the Daya River, flowing into the Bay of Bengal, covering an area of over 1,100 km².
• It is the biggest lake of India after Vembanad Lake.
• This lake is the largest coastal lagoon in India and the largest brackish water lagoon in the world after The New Caledonian barrier reef.
• It has been listed as a tentative UNESCO World Heritage site.
• It is the largest salt water lake in India.
• It is the largest wintering ground for migratory birds on the Indian subcontinent. The lake is home to a number of threatened species of plants and animals.
• In 1981, Chilika Lake was designated the first Indian wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention.
• A 32 km long, narrow, outer channel connects the lagoon to the Bay of Bengal.
• More recently a new mouth has been opened by CDA which has brought a new lease of life to the lagoon.
• Microalgae, marine seaweeds, sea grasses, fish and crab also flourish in the brackish water of the Chilika Lagoon.
• Especially the recovery of seagrass beds in recent years is a welcoming trend which may eventually result in re-colonization of endangered dugongs

Fishing Cats in Chilika

• The lake has 176 of the globally threatened species of fishing cat, a census done by the Chilika Development Authority (CDA) in collaboration with the Fishing Cat Project (TFCP).
• This is the world’s first population estimation of the fishing cat done outside the protected area network.
• The globally threatened cats are found in wetlands in major South and Southeast Asian river basins starting from the Indus in Pakistan till the Mekong in Vietnam and in Sri Lanka and Java.
• They are found in 10 Asian countries but have stayed undetected in Vietnam and Java since the last decade or so.
• Since 2016, it has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.
• Fishing cat populations are threatened by destruction of wetlands and have declined severely over the last decade.
• The fishing cat lives foremost in the vicinity of wetlands, along rivers, streams, oxbow lakes, in swamps, and mangroves.
• The fishing cat is the state animal of West Bengal.

The Fishing Cat Project (TFCP)

• The Fishing Cat Project (TFCP) is the world’s longest running research and conservation project on fishing cats and has been functional since 2010.
• It is currently functioning in two states of India – West Bengal and Odisha.
• In 2012, the fishing cat was declared as the State Animal of West Bengal and over the years, TFCP’s pluralistic approach to conservation has led to wider acceptance and interest of fishing cats in Bengal.
• This includes more enthusiastic public support in fishing cat conservation and better implementation of laws to safeguard the species and its habitat.
• Future plans in Bengal include:
  • Projects to address negative interactions between fisherman and fishing cat and.
  • Scaling up the ‘eyes-and-ears’ program for more widespread vigilance on fishing cat, anticipating threats and acting in time to diffuse them.
  • Highlight the field as flagship for wetlands outside protected areas.
• Since 2017, TFCP has also been working in Odisha in collaboration with the Odisha Forest Department and Chilika Development Authority (the guardian government body looking after the health and well-being of Chilika).
• In 2020, the fishing cat was declared as ambassador for Chilika.
• In 2021, TFCP will aid in regularizing a population estimation protocol of the fishing cat in Chilika – a RAMSAR Site and Asia’s largest brackish water lagoon.
• This will subsequently be taken up and internalized by the government.
• Future plans include:
  • Creating a fishing cat conservation network in Odisha with multiple stakeholders including local residents, students, researchers, non-government and government organisations.
  • Creating an adaptive manage strategy by involving indigenous fisherfolk communities and relevant government departments for better habitat management within a socio-ecological framework.
  • Prioritising fishing cat conservation in Odisha.