About 15 km beachfront in Udupi district filled with cellophane tube worm shells

A group of scientists from the College of Fisheries, Mangaluru and the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Mangaluru, along with officials from the Fisheries Department, visited one such site near Malpe, near Udupi, and inspected the dumped material.

People along the beachfront in Udupi district were surprised to witness large quantities of weed, or noodle-like material, being washed ashore for about a week. The material did not cause any harm to human beings or animals on land.

A group of scientists from the College of Fisheries, Mangaluru and the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Mangaluru, along with officials from the Fisheries Department, visited one such site near Malpe, near Udupi, and inspected the dumped material.

Professor Shivakumar Magadha, Fisheries College, concluded that the material were the shells of dead cellophane tube worms. The shells, which lie at the seabed with worms inside, might have got dislodged due to the recent cyclone Biparjoy, and have been washed ashore. There is no harm from the dead worms, or their shells, to other living beings on the land.

Udupi Joint Director of Fisheries Vivek said the shells were seen along about 15 km of beachfront in the district since a week. Every day, more material was being washed ashore. Fisherfolk and people staying closer to the shore need not worry about the material, as they are like any other marine creatures, he said.

Prof. Magadha said the material is rich in nutrients, and could be converted into manure by burying in pits on land. As an alternative, they could be pushed back into the sea. They would then become food for the marine life.

The material would be sent to the National Institute of Oceanography in Goa, the Central Institute of Fisheries Technology in Kochi, and Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute in Kochi, for further study and research.

What is seriously to be considered was the presence of large amount of plastic material along with these shells. Such incidents should be an eye-opener to every human being, who should compulsorily desist from throwing plastic waste indiscriminately, he said.