Storm on the sea: Fisherman killed as boat capsizes off Bhatkal

August 5, 2012

Karwar: August 5: A fisherman last his life when his boat capsized as heavy winds blew across the Arabian Sea at Karikal village in Bhatkal taluk on Saturday.

The dead has been identified as Govind Kharvi (50) from Mavinakurve village near Bhatkal in Uttara Kannada.

High tides have made fishing boats that ventured into the sea from various ports in the district return to the shore.Hundreds of mechanised fishing boats from Goa, Kerala, Uttara Kannada and Udupi ports have anchored at Baithakola fishing port.

“High tides accompanied by heavy rains have made casting of nets impossible. We shall get into the waters once the tides recede,” said fisherman Keshava Mogera.

The coastal areas in the district have not received rains, but there were good rains in the ghats and the plains.

However, there has been no report of rain damage. Yellapura received 68.4 mm of rainfall and Joida received 124.6 mm, during the 24 hours that ended at 8 am on Saturday. There was 71 mm of rainfall in Sirsi, 88.4 mm in Siddapura, 39.4 mm in Huliyal and 30 mm of rainfall in Bhatkal.

Comments

Add new comment

Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.

Elusive bamboo shrimp resurfaces in Mangaluru estuary after 70 years

News Network

December 7,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 7: A rare bamboo shrimp has been rediscovered on mainland India more than 70 years after it was last reported, confirming for the first time the presence of Atyopsis spinipes in the country. The find was made by researchers from the Centre for Climate Change Studies at Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai, during surveys in Karnataka and Odisha.

The team — shrimp expert Dr S Prakash, PhD scholar K Kunjulakshmi, and Mangaluru-based researcher Maclean Antony Santos — combined field surveys, ecological assessments and DNA analysis to identify the elusive species. Their findings, published in Zootaxa, resolve decades of taxonomic confusion stemming from a 1951 report that misidentified the species as Atyopsis moluccensis without strong evidence.

The shrimp has now been confirmed at two locations: the Mulki–Pavanje estuary near Mangaluru and the Kuakhai River in Bhubaneswar. Historical specimens from the Andaman Islands, previously labelled as A. moluccensis, were also found to be misidentified and actually belong to A. spinipes.

The rediscovery began after an aquarium hobbyist in Odisha spotted a shrimp in 2022, prompting systematic surveys across Udupi, Karwar and Mangaluru. Four female specimens were collected in Mulki and one in Odisha, all genetically matching.

Researchers warn the species may exist in very small, vulnerable populations as freshwater habitats face increasing pressure from pollution, sand mining and infrastructure development. All verified specimens have been deposited with the Zoological Survey of India for future reference.

Comments