Environmental impact assessment in the shrimp farming areas of Nagapattinam Quaid-E-Milleth district, Tamil Nadu

To assess the effects of shrimp farming on the environment and on the coastal population, a study was undertaken by a team of scientific and technical staff of CMFRl in Nagapattinam Quaid-e-Milleth district, Tamil Nadu in September, 1995. Several small and large farms and corporate farms in nine coastal places, where a number of farms are located were covered in the study. With the help of the mobile laboratory of the CMFR Institute, the team collected and aneilysed soil, water and plankton samples in the inlet and outlet of the farm areas, shrimp ponds and from the wells of the nearby villages. Estimations on hydrological parameters, nutrients and total and differential counts of bacteria in the water and soil samples were made following standard procedures