Conservationists Call For Ban On Night Fishing With LED Lights In Manipur’s Loktak Lake

Loktak Lake conservationists have called for a ban on night fishing with the use of LED lights in Manipur's Bishnupur district.

Loktak Lake conservationists have called for a ban on night fishing with the use of LED lights in Manipur's Bishnupur district.

Source : Special Arrangement

Guwahati: In a bid to preserve the delicate ecosystem of the famous Loktak Lake, the largest freshwater lake in South Asia which is nestled in Manipur’s Bishnupur district, the All Loktak Lake Area Fishers’ Union, Manipur (ALLAFUM) has called for a ban on activities that could compromise its conservation objectives. The group has called for a ban on night fishing using LED lights.

Highlighting the detrimental practices of the local fishermen employing light-emitting diode (LED) lights for illegal fishing within the lake’s core areas, Secretary of ALLAFUM, Oinam Rajen Singh, emphasised the union’s persistent demand to prohibit this method near the lake’s immediate vicinity. Singh elaborated on the issues such as the obstruction of migratory fish passage due to the Ithai Barrage and excessive harvesting methods that have led to a stark decline in Loktak Lake’s fish population.

Expressing distress over the dwindling fish population impacting the livelihoods of the Loktak fishermen, Singh condemned the recent trend of nocturnal fishing using LED lights. “This practice not only exacerbates overfishing but also disrupts the feeding grounds crucial for wintering migratory water birds arriving between October and February annually,” Singh said.

Recently adopted by the local fishermen, the use of LED devices to attract fish has drawn attention from authorities for its negative impact on traditional fishing methods, transforming Loktak Lake into an illuminated spectacle at night. Singh cautioned against the adverse effects of night fishing with brightly-lit LED lights, asserting the urgent need to cease this practice to protect migratory birds. The union’s Secretary reiterated calls for a fishing hiatus from January to February to protect fingerlings during their spawning period.

Singh urged the fishermen to refrain from using tightly woven nets and battery-operated dynamo apparatus that indiscriminately harm aquatic life forms, including fish, amphibians, insects and plankton. Shouldering the responsibility for lake preservation, the fishing community at Champu Khangpok floating island village, situated within the heart of the lake, remains dedicated to safeguarding Loktak Lake’s resources, crucial for their sustenance, it added.

Singh urged proactive involvement from the Loktak Development Authority in collaboration with the Loktak fishermen to design and implement effective conservation strategies, aiming to safeguard the lake’s biodiversity and prevent further ecological losses, the release further stated.