Gulf of Mannar

The Gulf of Mannar is a large, shallow bay that is part of the Laccadive Sea in the Indian Ocean. It sits between the southeastern tip of India and the west coast of Sri Lanka, along a region called the Coromandel Coast. The water here is not very deep, with an average depth of about 5.8 meters, or 19 feet.

A chain of low islands and reefs called Adam’s Bridge or Rama Setu separates the Gulf of Mannar from another body of water called Palk Bay to the north. This chain includes Mannar Island.

Several rivers flow into the Gulf of Mannar. These include the Thamirabarani River and Vaippar River from South India, as well as the Malvathu Oya (Malvathu River) from Sri Lanka. The Gulf of Mannar is also home to the dugong, also known as a sea cow, which lives in this area.

Conservation

Marine sanctuary

See also: Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park

The Gulf of Mannar is a special place that is home to more than 3,600 different kinds of plants and animals, making it one of the richest coastal areas in Asia. You can often see sea turtles, sharks, dugongs, and dolphins here. However, with many villages nearby, people have been taking too many fish and other sea creatures, which has caused some species to become less common. This includes fish, pearl oyster, gorgonian coral, and acorn worm. Fishermen depend on these sea creatures to feed their families, but some fishing methods and pollution have hurt the reefs and made it harder to catch fish.

In 1986, a group of 21 small islands near the coast of Tamil Nadu was made into the Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park. In 1989, this area and the waters around it were also named a Biosphere Reserve.

Biosphere reserve

The Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve covers a large area of ocean, 21 islands, and the nearby coastline. It includes beaches, estuaries, and special kinds of forests, as well as underwater plants, seaweed and sea grass areas, coral reefs, salty water marshes, and mangrove forests. In 2019, scientists noticed that some of the corals were losing their colour, which can happen when the water gets too warm.

Marine activities

The Gulf of Mannar has been famous for its pearl banks for over 2,000 years. Ancient writers like Pliny the Elder praised the gulf for having some of the richest pearl fisheries in the world. Even today, people still collect natural pearls there, even though it costs more than in many other places.

Important ports near the Gulf of Mannar include Thoothukudi in India and Colombo in Sri Lanka. In 2005, India began planning a big shipping canal project that would connect the Gulf of Mannar to the Bay of Bengal. This would make travel between India's east and west coasts faster, but some people worry it might harm the plants and animals in the area.