Coral patches on reef off Thiruvananthapuram coast point to need for proper seabed biodiversity survey

The findings of a recent survey by a local marine biodiversity research group off the Thiruvananthapuram coast underline the value of seabed mapping, especially in the context of the row over the Centre’s offshore sand mining move off Kollam.

The findings of a recent survey by a local marine biodiversity research group off the Thiruvananthapuram coast underline the value of seabed mapping, especially in the context of the row over the Centre’s offshore sand mining move off Kollam.

Friends of Marine Life (FML), which has been active in studying and documenting marine life off Thiruvananthapuram, has claimed to have found extensive coral patches on the seabed at a depth of 22 metres some 2.5 km to the west of St Andrew’s beach near Thumba.

FML organised the survey acting on a tip-off by a local fisherman. It has since released underwater photographs and video footage of its findings. “We have been documenting marine biodiversity off Thiruvananthapuram coast for 12 years now. But this is the first time that we have encountered such a large swathe of coral patches,” Robert Panipilla, the chief coordinator of FML who previously led the data collection for a Marine Biodiversity Register for the State government’s Kerala State Biodiversity Board (KSBB), said.

The coral patches were found on a platform reef - ‘Thara Paaru’ in local parlance - extending from Thumba to Puthenthope. One of the coral species found here, the Dipsastraea favus, has not been reported off Kerala previously, according to him. Species belonging to two other genera belonging to the family Dendrophylliidae - Dendrophyllia and Tubastraea - also were found here.

FML, using its own divers and those of Scuba Cochin, carried out the study on the basis of a tip-off from Thadeose, a fisherman from Thumba. “We found the reef home to a wealth of marine organisms, including fish species,” Mr. Panipilla said. He urged the Kerala government to take the effort to document the wealth of marine biodiversity through comprehensive seabed mapping.

“Habitat mapping provides essential information for effective management of the marine environment, conservation measures, selection of areas that require protection and and support fisheries management decisions,” Mr. Panipilla said.

His group is now hoping to organise a more detailed study of the reef in collaboration with the Aquatics Biology and Fisheries Department of the University of Kerala, SCUBA Cochin, the South Indian Federation of Fishermen Societies (SIFFS) and the NGO Adhwana.