The report titled ‘Coral Reefs of the Gulf of Mannar: Decadal Changes in Status and Management Paradigms’, was released at the Tamil Nadu Climate Summit 2.0 in Chennai.
The average live coral cover in Gulf of Mannar, one of the major coral reef areas in India, dropped from 37% in 2005 to 27.3% in 2021.
The share of live corals hit an all-time high of 42.9% in 2009.
It dropped after widespread coral mortalities due to the second (2010) and third (2016) global bleaching events.
The more severe impact occurred in the Mandapam region than in the Keelakarai and Tuticorin regions.
The baseline survey in 2005 recorded 117 coral species and more were added by the subsequent surveys till 2021 with updated nomenclature increasing the number to 132.