The Gulf of Mannar is a bay located in the Indian Ocean, between the southeastern tip of India and the west coast of Sri Lanka and has an average depth of 19 feet (5.8 meters). The Gulf covers an area of approximately 4,100 square miles (10,600 square kilometres). It contains 21 small islands, islets and coral reefs.
The Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park, which covers an area of 220 square miles, was established in 1986 to protect the Gulf’s biodiversity. It is home to over 3,600 species of flora and fauna, including 117 hard coral species, sea turtles, sharks, dugongs and dolphins. The Gulf of Mannar has been declared a biosphere reserve where rare marine life, plants and coral reefs are found, which are protected by the Forest Department.
Social activist Senthil said that the Gulf of Mannar is said to be the sea area from Ramanathapuram district to Tuticorin. It is full of rare coral reefs, creatures and plants. Due to this, the forest department has kept these islands under its control.
It is home to unusual sea species such as sea cows, sea lizards, sea horses, and dolphins that are found nowhere else in the world. There are over 2,000 marine plants that are found here. To protect such a rare place, the United Nations Environment Division declared it a protected park. After this, they planned to protect it in collaboration with India by allocating several crores of funds.
There are unique species of coral reefs found here. The gulf faces threats from overfishing, pollution, coral mining and other human activities. Due to global warming, the oceans are getting warmer and the Gulf of Mannar is also getting warmer and the coral reefs are at risk. Thus, the central government and the World Environment Organisation should pay more attention and allocate funds to protect the Gulf of Mannar and implement various projects. The Gulf of Mannar is the place where deep-sea fish spawn, so the environment of the ocean exists here.
Thus, protecting the Gulf of Mannar is like protecting the ocean. Failure to protect it does not only affect marine life but also affects human life. Man can get complete oxygen only if the ecological chain in the ocean is maintained.
Oxygen for human life originates not only from trees but also from sea plants. If fish are deprived of oxygen, humans will also be deprived of oxygen. Thus, we emphasise that the central government should protect the environment together with the World Environment Organisation.
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