The Fish Cemetery, an art installation set up by the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) last year to create awareness on coastal pollution, has won national recognition with the CMFRI bagging the Swachh Bharat Award.

The director of CMFRI, A. Gopalakrishnan, received the award from Radha Mohan Singh, Union Minister for Agriculture, said a press release here.

The institute received second prize at the national level among the institutes functioning under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). The Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation (ISSWC) in Dehradun got the first prize in the category, the press release added.

The award is in recognition of the CMFRI’s attempt to create awareness among the public about the dangers of plastic litter in marine ecosystem by setting up the art installation of fish cemetery on Fort Kochi beach last year.

Set up in an area of more than 2,500 sq.ft. with a height of 13 feet, the installation consisted of giant fish like structures that reminded the dangers of plastic pollution on marine and coastal waterbodies.

The ‘Fish Cemetery’ was used to warn the public of the dangers of dumping plastic in the sea and other waterbodies.

The CMFRI has also launched cleanliness drive on the premises of major fishing harbours and beaches across the country by ensuring public participation.

Besides the Kochi centre, the cleanliness drive was carried out by all regional research centres of the CMFRI located in various parts of the country such as Veraval, Mumbai, Karwar, Visakhapatnam, Mandapam, Tuticorin, Chennai, Mangaluru, Kozhikode and Vizhinjam.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kochi / by Special Correspondent / Kochi – March 13th, 2018