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Gulf of Mannar



The Gulf of Mannar is well known for being the home of many coral reefs. These reefs of Gulf Mannar have been researched by the Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute, Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Center of Advanced Studies in Marine Biology and Madurai Kamaraj University.

The Gulf of Mannar reefs are found around as many as 20 islands, which are situated between Rameswaram (79°14' East Longitude and 9°14' North Latitude) and Tuticorin (78°9' East Longitude 8°48' North Latitude) on the south-eastern coast of the country of India.

As many as 91 different species of coral reefs belonging to 35 genera have been found at Gulf of Mannar in India. There are also other types of marine life that have been found here like marine algae, mollusks, echinoderms, polychaetes and sponges.

The number of the corals near the northern islands, towards the north like Shingle and Kurusadai, has been very much affected over a period of many decades by many pollutants of various industries. Some of the major industrial pollutants of this part of India are liquid effluents and fly ash produced by onshore industries.



Last Updated on : 17/06/2013