Mithapur marine ecosystem healthy, stable: CSIR-CSMCRI study
Mumbai, Sept 1 (TNT): The marine ecosystem around Tata Chemicals Limited’s (TCL) treated effluent discharge point at Mithapur in Gujarat’s Gulf of Kutch is healthy, stable and productive, according to a study by CSIR-Central Salt & Marine Chemicals Research Institute (CSIR-CSMCRI), Bhavnagar.
The study found that water and sediment quality parameters remained within natural ranges and that the coastal ecosystem continued to support diverse marine life, mangroves and bird populations.
The assessment recorded 637 birds belonging to 40 species, including migratory birds using the Central Asian Flyway.
The sampling station closest to the discharge point recorded the highest bird abundance, including around 250 Greater Flamingos, indicating continued feeding activity on the local mudflats.
Mangrove stands dominated by Avicennia marina were found to be healthy and continued to provide shoreline stabilisation and habitat functions, the study said.
The plankton community comprised 22 phytoplankton and 23 zooplankton species, indicating a balanced and productive marine food web.
The report said seawater parameters including pH, salinity, dissolved oxygen and biochemical oxygen demand were within ranges typical of a healthy coastal marine environment. Diversity indices also indicated healthy vegetation communities, with no evidence of environmental degradation.
The assessment was carried out as part of the biennial monitoring requirements linked to approval for the treated wastewater discharge pipeline project. Field studies were conducted in December 2025 and May 2026, covering water and sediment quality, marine biology, floral diversity and avifauna within a 10-km radius of the discharge point.
The report, released in August 2026, is the first assessment submitted under the ongoing monitoring framework.
It concluded that decades of industrial activity and treated wastewater management had co-existed with the coastal environment, with local conditions governed predominantly by natural marine and tidal processes.
CSIR-CSMCRI is a constituent laboratory of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Government of India, based in Bhavnagar.
TNT KS
