| Marine National Park, Gulf of Kutch | |
|---|---|
 During the low tide, the sea falls back miles and the hidden sea floor is revealed | |
  Marine National Park | |
 Interactive map of Marine National Park, Gulf of Kutch | |
| Location | Gulf of Kutch,Devbhumi Dwarka district,Gujarat,India |
| Nearest city | Jamnagar |
| Coordinates | 22°28′N69°37′E / 22.467°N 69.617°E /22.467; 69.617 |
| Area | 162.89 km2 (62.89 sq mi) |
| Established | 1982 |
| Governing body | Forest Department of Gujarat |
Marine National Park in theGulf of Kutch is situated on the southern shore of the Gulf of Kutch in theDevbhumi Dwarka district ofGujarat state,India. In 1980, an area of 270 km2 fromOkha toJodiya was declaredMarine Sanctuary. Later, in 1982, a core area of 110 km2 was declared Marine National Park under the provisions of theWildlife (protection) Act, 1972 of India. There are 42 islands on theJamnagar coast in the Marine National Park, most of them surrounded byreefs. The best-known island is Pirotan.[1] The park protects two major ecosystems, corals and mangroves.[2]
The park is home to more than 40 species ofsponges, 40 species ofhard coral and 10 species ofsoft coral.[2]
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Jellyfish,Portuguese man of war andsea anemones are other coelenterates found here.Arthropods include 27 species ofprawns, 30 species ofcrabs,lobsters,shrimps and othercrustaceans.Molluscs likepearl oysters andsea slugs are present.Octopus which change colour are also found.Echinoderms likestarfish,sea cucumbers andsea urchins are present. The fishes found arepuffer fishes,sea horse,sting ray,mudskippers andwhale sharks which are an endangered species.Endangered sea turtles such asgreen sea turtles,olive ridleys andleatherbacks are seen here. There are three species ofsea snakes. There aredugongs and smallercetaceans likefinless porpoises,common dolphins,bottlenose dolphins andIndo-Pacific humpback dolphins.[3] Larger whales[4] such asblue whales,[5]sei whales are seen.[6]Humpback whales, andsperm whales may have been almost wiped out due to illegal whaling by theSoviet Union andJapan.[7]Whale sharks can be found in deeper areas.[8] A surprisingly large scalegreater flamingo colony, reaching up to 20,000 nests is known to occur along the gulf and many other birds species found here likecrab plovers,sandpipers,western reef egret,great egret,ruff,eurasian oystercatcher,greenshanks,redshanks,gulls,skimmers,ducks,pelicans,storks,Godwits,terns.[9] There are 42 islands in theArabian Sea with coral reefs and the park is situated in one of those.[10]
Marine National Park of Gulf of Kutch is a fragileecosystem.[11] In recent years, biodiversity of marine park has been under threat due to extraction ofcorals and sands by cement industries, increased turbidity of water, oil refineries, chemical industries and mechanised fishing boats.[1] At present, 31 species of corals are reported in the Marine National Park (Kumar et al. 2014). There were two catastrophic and localised (Adhavan et al. 2014) bleaching events happened in this region.
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