Day 49 - Independence Day reflections

I was at Nochikuppam last evening, for a walk along the shore where the fishing village is located.  This is the first fishing village behind Marina lighthouse.

Marina Beach!  How long since I visited!  A place where we used to go so often as a family in my childhood.  Not anymore.

I was here as part of a Shore Walk conducted by Madras Naturalists' Society for the Urban Wilderness Walks Internship program.  The walk was led by the brilliant and passionate Yuvan.  There's always something to learn from Yuvan.  

The new apartment blocks of Nochikuppam.  I quite like the wall paintings that are on the walls these days.

These fishing villages pre-date colonial Madras, and arguably date back as much as 800 years.  So much of oral histories, and knowledge of the seas and the area they must have.  And Nochikuppam Fishermen’s Cooperative appears to be the earliest documented fishermen’s cooperative in Chennai, registered on 18 May 1945, pre-independence!

Yuvan stressed that it is these communities who have fought for their rights and kept control of the coastal common lands from falling into private developers.  More power to them, and even if we find the road messed up and smelly and so much open defecation, the flip side is that  these are the communities with their artisanal low impact fishing that have protected our coastal biodiversity and protected the seas.  

Longshore currents and sandy beaches

Off the coast of Chennai and the Coromandel coast in general, we have what are called longshore currents - these run almost parallel to the land, and change direction (north/south) based on the monsoon winds.  As we watched, we could see the northerly movement currently.

This northerly movement at the moment (Vadakku sulai) is moving sand from the south and depositing it at Marina beach, as the port stops the sand from moving further.  And this is the reason that while Marina gets wider, the Ennore areas witnessed erosion.  But when the longshore current changes direction and starts moving south, (therkku payvu), then should not the balance be restored, I wondered.  I believe it is not balanced and this is the reason the northerly current has more impact.

These longshore currents switching directions affects the seasonality of fishing catch as well, and these artisanal fishermen make use of these changes, and know it well.  When the longshore current moves northerly (currently), it seems it is good for seer and mullets more during the southerly currents!

Yuvan told us how these traditional fisherfolks adjust the net size and type, mesh size, and fishing grounds to these seasonal patterns — something that industrial trawlers are not doing.  

Rocky outcrops off the Thiruvanmyur coast

I was fascinated to hear Yuvan describe the "kal parai", rocky outcrops of the coast near Thiruvanmyur, that the fishing communities  describe - laterite or sandstone outcrops.  We see them more near Kovalam and Mahabalipuram coast during low tide, but they are also present off Thiruvanmyur and these are almost reef-like in their biodiversity.  

I saw this mussel - Asian green mussel - pachai kadal kallum - Perna viridis - in May this year.  I learnt that these mussels are found in our Chennai waters, in rows on the sea bed and even clinging to rocky outcrops, and they form such dense beds, that they support biodiversity and a variety of marine life!  They are filter feeders, clearing the water of contaminants as well.

We saw the fascinating Decorator worm, which is inside somewhere, in a tube, and then picks up odd bits of shell and sediment and "decorates" its tube, fixing them with a natural protein glue.  Nowadays, you do find the decorations being bits of plastic and man-made debris!

We saw dead box fish and crabs, Madras harp shells and a windowpane oyster as well.

And even a dog enjoying the waves!

India is home to such a a diverse set of communities - human and otherwise - and this Independence Day, I wish that we all continue to flourish and coexist with deep respect for each other.