According
to recent survey, Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) has found three record of
coral reef on our own malvan near Sindhudurg Maharashtra.
Along
with this the commonly found species of Turbinaria
mesenterina, Goniatsrea pectinata, Porites
lichen, Porites lutea, Siderastrea savignvana, Coscinarea monile, Cyphastera
serialia, Pleasiastrea versipora, Leptastrea sp, Cyphastrea sp and Goniopora sp,
new records of Goniatsrea sp, Porites sp and Turbinaria sp have been found
in the survey covering 180 km of the Sindhudurg coast – according to DNA and
THE HINDU
Now,
It required most efforts to protect the reef with the assistance of the United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP), which has sanctioned Rs. 80 lakh towards
capacity building of the local people.
A team from the Marine Biology Regional Centre
of the ZSI in Chennai and another team from Kolkata conducted a study last week
on the status of the coral reef and monitored its health.
According
to ZSI official - “Fishing is going on there and tourists are also coming to
the area for corals. We have to find a way to balance fishing and tourism with
the protection of corals in Malvan, ”Unlike the reefs found in other parts of
the country — Gulf of Mannar, Gulf of Kutch, Lakshadweep and the Andaman and
Nicobar Islands — those in Malvan are “pristine and still unbleached,” he said.
The
ZSI had earlier transplanted coral reef from the Gulf of Mannar in Tamil Nadu
to the Gulf of Kutch in Gujarat over one square km with assistance from the
World Bank. There
is good tourist flow and corals are in the main attraction for tourists. Now it
has to do fine balancing to protect corals since fishing too goes on unabated
in malvan. It is one of the finest discoveries in Malvan this is a value added
attraction and it would boost tourism, It will also boost adventure tourism
such as Scuba diving.
We
will spread this message across the globe and will make it grow and famous as
The Great Coral Reef in Australia “The Great Barrier Reef”.
-Source DNA, The Hindu and Internet.
