An unusual fish impingement event in the cooling water system of a nuclear power plant

Abstract

The paper presents an unusual event of fish impingement in the cooling water system of Madras Atomic Power Station during 10th to 22nd July 2008. During this short period 79 species (47 reef-associated and 28 demersal) of fishes were collected from the travelling water screen. Interestingly, 5 species new to Tamil Nadu, 3 species new to east coast of India, 2 species new to Indian coasts, 2 species new to Indian Ocean region and a cryptic species were encountered during this study. Occurrence of such a number of new records in a short period of time from this location indicated the role of some sort of oceanographic process in this event. Results of physico-chemical and biological parameters during the study indicated prevalence of upwelling in the coastal waters which might have played a significant role in shaping this event.