Status of Coral Reefs of the World 2000

Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2000
Reefs in the Gulf of Mannar are found around a string of 21 islands, 8km off the southeast
coast of India. The 3 island groups (Mandapam, Keelakari and Tuticorin) form the ‘Pamban
to Tuticorin barrier reef’, which contains fringing, platform, patch and barrier reefs. Narrow
fringing reefs surround the islands extending 100m from the shore. Patch reefs are also
found and are typically 1-2km long, 50m wide and 2 to 9m deep. Reef flats are extensive
on all islands. The total area includes approximately 65km 2 of reef flat and 14km 2 of algal
growth. The major economic activities are fishing, coral mining for construction, harvesting
of sacred chanks (Turbinella pyrum), sea cucumber, pipefishes, sea horses and seaweeds.
Of the 530 islands in the Andaman and Nicobars, only 38 are inhabited with 279,000
people as of 1991, but this is predicted to rise to 405,000 in 2001. The largest islands of
North Andaman, Middle Andaman, Ritchie’s Archipelago, South Andaman, Little Andaman,
Baratang and Rutland Island are mountainous and forest covered, and are surrounded by
some of the richest coral reefs in India.
The Lakshadweep Islands are true atolls at the northern end of the Laccadive-Chagos
ridge, 225-450km west of the Kerala coast. There are 12 coral atolls with 36 islands and 5
submerged banks. Islands vary in size from 0.1km 2 to 4.8km 2 (total area 32km 2 ) and are
surrounded by 4,200km 2 of lagoon, raised reefs and banks. The population on the 10
inhabited islands ranges from 100 on Bitra Island to 10,000 on Kavaratti. Offshore fishing is
the most important activity, and reef fisheries are not economically important. Tourism is
slowly developing, but provides little income for the local community.
There are 42 islands with fringing reefs in the southern part of the Gulf of Kutch along with
extensive mangroves in the Indus River Delta. Corals survive through extreme environmental
conditions such as high temperature, salinity changes, high-suspended particulate loads
and extreme tides, as high as 12m.
Maldives
The Maldive archipelago is at the centre of the Laccadive-Chagos ridge, and is 864km long
(north to south), 130km wide, and has a land area of approximately 300km 2 . There are
1,190 coral islands, numerous sand cays and faroes within 23 atolls. The exclusive
economic zone is approximately 90,000km 2 . Islands of this archipelago have a maximum
elevation of about 5m and a narrow fringing reef around each island, which slopes rapidly
down to the seabed. The reefs are essential for shoreline protection. Until recently, the Maldives
depended on the offshore tuna fisheries; however, tourism is now the mainstay of its economy.
Pakistan
Coral growth is inhibited by the high level of sedimentation, turbid conditions and
limitations in the availability of suitable habitats for coral growth. The only known coral
formations occur as small isolated patches growing on hard substrates. There is an almost
total lack of published information on corals in Pakistan and no research programmes exist
to monitor the corals and associated biota.
Sri Lanka
An estimated 2% of the 1,585km coastline has fringing reefs, with larger reef areas offshore in the
Gulf of Mannar to the northwest and also along the east coast. Corals grow to varying extents on
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