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An marine biodiversity hotspot area offering an entire array of marine habitats: coral reefs, mangroves and seagrass beds which stretches over 140 kilometers shares its borders with more than seven tribal communities who have been living alongside for generations. Due to its ecological importance it has about thirteen agencies to manage and conserve its resources aimed at protecting the resources from this ecosystem.

• Corals • Dugong • Birds • Mangroves • Sea cucumber • Sea grass • Turtle •

Reef Restoration

Coral reefs account for only 0.1% of the ocean floor but provide shelter for nearly 25% of marine species. It has been estimated that coral reefs could hold up to 800,000 species. Corals grow in temperatures as high as 29°C to 34°C and 0.5 cm a year. Some species have grown up to 4 meters long. Often the growth or health of the coral are measured by intersect method. Unfortunately these corals do have a lot of stressors in their life such as bleaching not lethal but it would take months before the coral recovered. Besides corals are also susceptible to fungal diseases and pesticide-driven fungal infections.

Natural predators include parrotfish, snails and crabs in addition to human practices like trap fishing, bottom trawling (being a serious problem in Sri Lanka), coral mining and marine debris such as plastic and fishing nets. Restoration operations are done between October and March when corals are transplanted within a gap of 3 hours using bricks. Coral restoration also plays a significant role in restoring submerged islands, two of which have vanished already. In the case of Palk Bay it is one of the most crucial sites for coral restoration by spring and PUC methods as the restoration cycle takes about two years. Another supporting element of coral ecosystems are the seagrasses which are crucial for carbon storage.

Marine Mammals

Marine mammals are some of the descendant species from the land species that have found to survive underwater. The dolphins, whales, dugongs and porpoises are some of the examples of marine mammals. They are greatly dissimilar to fishes in terms of their respiration, blowhole, flippers and skeleton-structured teeth. Unlike the fishes the marine mammals use their blowholes for respiration. Their flippers contain the skeleton structures also very much similar to those of land animals. One more point of difference among the stranded and bleached marine mammals exists. For instance in the Manpad incident where dolphin corpses were washed ashore due to naval exercises it can easily be found that these creatures are vulnerable to human actions.

Project Dugong

These marine mammals can live for as long as 60-80 years but only produce five calves in their lifetime. Dugongs are slow, steady grazers eating an average of 30 kg of seagrass per day. Project Dugong was sponsored by CAMPA initiative where its not globally threatened but in india it needs to be saved which be seen only here or gujrat. Apart from indirect surveys through interviews with local communities conservation methods also provide direct methods such as drone surveys and observing feeding trails.

Seagrass meadows stabilize the sediments absorb carbon and offer food for species like dugongs which act as important indicators of seagrass health. There are nearly 15 species of sea plants playing a role in marine ecosystem.

Bird diversity

The presence of birds is also one of the key signs of a healthy environment because they react very sensitively to changes in their ecosystem and play an important role in achieving the balance. The district has five bird sanctuaries making it an important habitat for avian biodiversity. Birds are not only residents of these sanctuaries but also part of global migratory patterns. There are eight major flyways in the world and one of these goes across this region. So the shores become a fertile hub of migratory birds.

Migratory birds greatly rely on this sites for food resources while doing their long journey. Coastal areas as well as wetlands situated in this district are an ideal feeding ground. There are congregated swarms of fish, mollusks and other invertebrates.These birds travel thousands of miles from areas like Siberia and the Arctic to seek refuge but they arrive in the Middle East during the months of winter where there are abundant food resources.

Mangrove Revival

Mangroves provide vital protection against the events of erosion and storms. They can be said to serve as a natural defense mechanism that can greatly soften the impacts that storms have along any coastline. Also support diverse marine life by providing rich habitats, supporting fisheries and absorbing carbon which is one way they can help prevent climate change. Mangroves filter pollutants out of water hence improving water quality. Mangroves require tidal zones for survival but other restoration modes have to be utilized in non-tidal areas use fishbone method and alternate fishbone where they plant two types of plants.

Wildlife Crimes

India's 1972 Wildlife Protection Act was enacted after the alarming discovery that tigers had disappeared from Kaziranga National Park. This is the oldest of such enactments in the state of Tamil Nadu with four schedules which it uses to guide the protection of the wildlife. The first schedule contains punishments ranging from 3-7 years for violations, Shedule two fine/ remand, s3 consist of plant species has 16.while Schedule 4 deals with international trade of species under CITES focusing on species that exist in many countries.

The role of the sea cucumber is imperative as it acts as a natural scavenger to maintain a clean ocean floor. Its function also contributes to keeping the corals healthy and its ecological importance contrasts sharply with the high demand in the international market and in China, where they are considered a delicacy and believed to have medicinal properties. Sea cucumber trade is a secret and very high-value business. Immediately after being brought out of the water, the inner organs of the sea cucumber start to rot within two hours. The fishermen take out its kidneys cook them, add salt to it and then soak them in brine-saltwater solution to help prolong its shelf life. One bag of 60 kilograms of sea cucumbers can be sold up to ₹3,000. The sea cumcumber has 8000 eggs can live in any depth.

EDC Initiatives

The BOT (Board of Trustee) was established in 2002 and gained control for over a decade before the state took over the administration of this development. A BOT is responsible for the management of an EDC, which is a grassroots-based development that has an elected president through a respective village. It is composed of at least 16 members. There are approximately 252 villages that have formed EDCs, which have been categorized into three types of threats based on fishing-related practices in the area.

Of these 110 villages are high threat due to intensive fishing; 69 medium threat with partial fishing activity; and 73 are classified as low threat with seasonal fishing complemented by agriculture. Government has allotted ₹26-27 crores to the fishing community as a micro-loan programme so as to benefit this community and develop alternative sustainable livelihoods. There are about 4-5 subgroups under each EDC which have 10 in one subgroup making a total of about 37,000 direct beneficiaries. The interest rate is at 5.5% and loans are transferred within the community to encourage fishermen towards other livelihoods.

The government helps in banking, eco tourism, community hall, emobidery and yearly tour. There are five eco-tourist spots.

Marine Elite Force

In 2022, the setting up of Marine Elite Force in Palk Bay and the Gulf of Mannar was one very important stride towards coastal conservation practices. This initiative has empowered local fishing communities to take responsibility for their marine environment. Under Article 48A of the Indian Constitution, the state is directed to make an effort toward protection of the environment while Article 51A(g) places similar responsibility on citizens.

Corals build the complex habitats where they live with fish and invertebrates. Seagrass is thus stabilized and carbon gets captured. Sea cucumber filters sediments due to seagrass habitats; however this also boosts availability of nutrients and species population counts. Mangroves prevent erosion along coastlines while their roots trap sediments to keep harmful runoff from reaching the coral reefs and seagrass beds. These marine systems protect shorelines and help foster marine biodiversity which is under threat by power players and NPCs.

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