64 DECEMBER • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WAS.ORG FIGURE 1. Cage fish farming in coal pits, Surajpur district of Chhattisgarh. reclamation, which not only improves the ecosystem (purifying the water) but also supports the livelihood and nutritional security of the tribal communities living nearby. Around 80% of the country’s coal activities are operated by South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL), incorporated by the public corporation Indian Coal Limited, the world’s biggest coal mining and operations company. Mining represents a temporal land use. After mining is abandoned, pits remain open without filling, and are ideally reclaimed for other uses, including recreation. Pumps are turned off, and the pits begin filling with water. Fast-growing poplar trees and scrub provide wildlife habitat. Abandoned coal pits have been used for aquaculture purposes on a limited scale with hardy and fast-growing fish species (Indian major carps and pangasius). However, all coal mining sites are not suitable for fish culture due to the presence of heavy metals and acid mine drainage which can accumulate in fish (bioaccumulation) and pose a significant hazard to human health. This paper examines aquaculture in coal pits, also called pit lakes, heavy metals problems and remedies, and provides two case studies. Aquaculture in the Coal Mine Pit Abandoned coal mine pits can pose a threat to biodiversity and ecosystems but at the same time available water resources can potentially be utilized for aquaculture purposes. Due to adverse ecological conditions, aquaculture activities can be difficult to perform at full potential, but several fish species are candidates for production. Pyrite, a mineral better known as ‘fool’s gold,’ can lead to reduced pH at high concentrations, reaching levels that many freshwater species cannot tolerate. Pyrite contains high levels of sulfur and iron, which pollute the water. Heavy metal accumulation and acid mine drainage (AMD) in pit lakes are the other major concerns for fish culture. Therefore, the selection of suitable fish species is important to achieve maximum production. Generally, heavy metals accumulate in fish muscle over a long period, so accumulation can be reduced through shorter cultivation duration using fast-growing species and artificial feeding. In locations with high concentrations of heavy metals and a high potential for accumulation, if the health of the fish is maintained, non-consumptive sport fishing or ornamental fish farming can be good options. Coal fuel is one of the important sources of energy in developing countries, but it creates huge destruction of ecosystems and biodiversity. Abandoned coal mine pits act as lakes where groundwater and surface runoff accumulate. As the demand for animal protein is increasing with the growing human population, existing aquaculture resources are unable to fulfil the fish demand sustainably. Therefore, there is a need to expand the aquaculture infrastructure. In India abandoned coal pit areas in different states such as Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and West Bengal, can be potentially used for aquaculture. Central Coalfields Limited (CCL), a subsidiary of Coal India Limited, has turned abandoned mine pits into flourishing fish farms in Jharkhand state and launched 5 projects in five different areas for cage culture in an abandoned coal mine. In Chhattisgarh, South Eastern Coalfield Ltd of CIL incurred Rs 1.97 crore under their ‘mine closure plan,’ and an abandoned coal mine was converted to yield promising aquaculture activities as a source of livelihood for the poor and tribal communities. Fish farming activity is now performed through submerged cage culture (PIB 2024). A number of cages are installed in coal pits in different places in Jharkhand, and in Chhattisgarh cages are installed in an abandoned coal pit in two places of the Sarjapur district and yielding 2 tons of production from each cage. The fisheries sector in India is the sun-rising sector; it provides nutrition and livelihood security to more than 14 million people and is a source of highly digestible animal protein. India is the second largest aquaculture producer in the world, but due to the increasing population and limited expansion of farming infrastructure existing production is not able to fulfil the consumers’ demand sustainably and keenly. India’s energy sector is largely dependent upon coal fuel and has acquired the second position among the world’s coal producers after China. The states of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Odisha are where 70% of the country’s coal reserves are located. Both opencast and underground mining methods extract coal, but 93% of all mines across India are operated as open-pit mines. These can result in large-scale ecological and biodiversity destruction, such as ecosystem disruption, deforestation, soil and water pollution, and intertwining social and economic problems. To rehabilitate flora and fauna and enrich the biodiversity in ecologically disturbed coal pits, aquaculture can be one of the best alternatives for land Turning Coal Mines into Aquatic Gold: Sustainable Fish Farming in Abandoned Pits Vinod Kumar
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