06-bioresourcesstatu.. - M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation

Jamnagar district, the ratio of balance draft to
utilizable recharge has become unfavorable. The
Wagber community is involved in fishing activity.
The Rabari communities along the coastal tract
practice the profession of cattle breeding. The koli
community is mortly involved in labour works
including that of salt works.
Animal husbandry is an important economic
activity in arid and semi-arid areas supporting
farm income. Gujarat has its native breeds of
cattle, buffaloes, sheep and horses. In the
Kachchh region 'Kankrej' breed of cattle is
famous and is also being exported to other
countries. However, during the .periods of droughts
livestock becomes the first victim and a large
number of .animals either parish or have to be
migrate to other areas.
Infrastructure facilities such as education, health,
drinking water, communication, transportation
and power are modest in the coastal belt. While
primary school facilities cover over 80% of the
villages, secondary education is confined to only
about 6 to 10% of villages. Health facilities are
also modest. Drinking water is a perennial
problem. Railway network towards the district
head quarter is available in Jamnagar district
from the majority of the coastal villages but in
Kachchh it is negligible. Several villages are well
connected .with tarred roads.
IV. Biodiversity and Conservation Values
i. Flora
Gulf of Kachchh
around Pirotan, without any marked difference
with 'depth throughout the Gulf. Most common
species were Nitzshia, Navicula, Thallassionenw.
Thall-essiosira and Coseinodiseus, while the
species like Coeolithophorides, Cyelotella, etc.
were rare (GEC, 1999). COMAPSstudies identified
genera like Synedra and Guinardia only at
Poshitra. However, no endemic species have been
recorded from this region during these studies.
b. Algae and seaweeds :
Gujarat coasts harbours around 210 species of
marine algae (seaweed) having a projected
biomass of >1,00,000 tonnes (fresh weight) year-I.
The Gulf contributes to the maximum species and
biomass level as well for the west coast of India
(Untawale et al., 1981). The oldest reviews on the
ecology of marine algae are of Gislen (1930),
Feldmann (1937;1951), Fischer-Piette (1940),
Chapman (1946; 1957), Doty (1957), which were
mostly based on qualitative surveys and biography.
Most of the work that has been conducted on
marine algae pertained to reports of occurrence or
general description of species and their
distribution. The systematic ecological studies on
the marine algae from the Gulf of Kachchh are
scanty. Boergesen (1930; 1931;.1932; 1933a;1933b;
1934; 1937a; 1937b and 1938) extensively surveyed
the marine algae on the coast of Gujarat, the then
part of, Bombay presidency and gave a
comprehensive list of species. Krishnamurthy &
Joshi (1970) prepared a check-list of the Indian
marine algae. Srinivasan (1969) prepared a
monograph 'Phycolgia Indica', which is a
collection of some icons of Indian Marine Algae.
Gopalakrishnan (1969) gave a list of marine algal
species collected at Dona Reef near Port Okha.
Bhandari and Trivedi (1975) surveyed the seaweed
resources of Hanuman Dandi & Vumani reefs near
Okha Port to estimate the harvestable quantities.
They have also provided information regarding
proper harvest of seaweeds. Avrainvillea
nigrieans has been reported for the first time from
Adatra coast by Sreenivasa Rao et al. (1971). Ulva
beytensis has been reported from Bet Dwarka
situated at the entrance to the Gulf of Kachchh, by
Thivy and Sharma (1966). Similarly, Turbinaria
ornata has been reported for the first time from
Hanuman Dandi area by Shah and Vaidya (1967).
Enterornorpha gujaratensis has been reported
for the first time in Gujarat by Kale (1967).
Caulerpa eharoides has been recorded from Okha
coast by Thivy & Visalakhmi (1963c). From the