ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ON THE HYDROGRAPHICAL FEATURES OF THEKKUMBHAGAM CREEK OF ASHTAMUDI ESTUARY

Thekkumbhagam is an island situated beyond the palm trees and shining waters of the enchantingly beautiful Ashtamudi estuary of Kerala, India. Nowadays signs of decline in fish availability and dwindling of the fragile lake Zone has been noticed due to the deposition of large quantities of untreated sewage, human excreta, oil spills, industries waste, retting yards as well as from eco-tourism. As a result Etroplus suratensis and mullet, the traditional resources of this area have disappeared while comparing with the previous yield resulting in the migration of the fishermen to other lakes. The present study was carried out to find out the changes of physiochemical characters of Thekkumbhagam creek that provides an insight into the need for conservation of the island.