The concept of plastic fishing could not have come at a more opportune time for the Kakkad river. The river has been reduced to a dump for the past several years and has been left to the mercy of encroachers. The plastic-fishing mission was launched in the river, hardly 3 km from the Kannur town, on December 8 to create awareness among the local residents and to involve them in saving this tributary of the Valapattanam river. As the first phase of the mission, volunteers of the Malabar Awareness and Rescue Centre for Wildlife (MARC) participated in the plastic fishing on the day. Our proposal for plastic fishing in the Kakkad river was approved by the Department of Environment and Climate Change as part of its Paristhithikam programme, said R. Roshnath, wildlife researcher associated with MARC. Migratory birds The river, part of the Kattampally wetlands, was a favourite haunt of migratory birds, he said. It was also a nesting and foraging site of herons. Waste dumping and encroachment were posing a major threat to the river, he said. MARC hired three boats for the plastic-fishing campaign. The campaign is being supported by the Kannur city Corporation and the Haritha Keralam Mission. In the next phase, a group comprising local residents will be formed to make the entire stretch of the river plastic-free. Survey Meanwhile, officials said that the Revenue Department had started a survey to identify encroachment on the Kakkad river and to protect it from further encroachment. There was also a proposal to set up birdwatching facilities there.