Chennai: India’s first Dugong Conservation Reserve is all set to come up in Tamil Nadu. The State government on Friday declared 500 sq.km of the biodiversity-rich waters in the Palk Bay, on the southeast coast of Tamil Nadu for the establishment.
The reserve will span the northern part of the Palk Bay from Adiramapattinam to Amapattinam.
Marine biologists and conservationists have long demanded a reserve as the population of dugongs, as known as sea cows, in Indian waters has been dropping to dangerous levels.
Dugong or sea cow is an endangered marine mammal that is facing extinction due to habitat loss, sea pollution, and loss of seagrass.
In Tamil Nadu, dugong is found in Gulf of Mannar, which is a shallow bay area between south eastern tip of Tamil Nadu and western part of Sri Lanka, and at Palk Bay, a semi enclosed shallow area in the same region.
Minister of Forests K Ramachandran on Friday said that in order to protect the species, Dugong Marine Conservation Reserve will be established in the Gulf of Mannar and Palk Bay area with community participation.
