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TUTICORIN: Erosion due to natural and man-made causes poses a serious threat to an island in the protected Gulf of Mannar. Experts say authorities should take immediate action or Vaan Island could soon vanish under the sea.
J K Patterson Edward, director of Suganthi Devadasan Marine Research Institute (SDMRI), Tuticorin, said a group of research scholars who visited Vaan Island two weeks ago found that the island had split into two. The researchers said the northern portion measures three hectares and estimated the southern part to be 2.7 hectares. "The two parts of the island are as much as 40 metres apart," Edward said.
Alarmingly, he said, Vaan Island, which was initially spread across 16 hectares, had shrunk by around 10.3 hectares to its current 5.7 hectares in less than three decades. Vaan Island is the southernmost of the 21 islands in the Gulf of Mannar.
"Rampant coral mining by people of the fishing villages along the coast is the main cause of the devastation to the island," Edward said. Coral mining was banned in 2005, but the damage had already been done, he said.
The Gulf of Mannar, off the coastal stretch between Rameswaram and Kanyakumari, is home to 4,223 species of flora and fauna, 117 species of corals, and 14 species of sea grasses. Two of the 21 islands submerged around a decade ago.
Gulf of Mannar isle splits in two, may sink - The Times of India
J K Patterson Edward, director of Suganthi Devadasan Marine Research Institute (SDMRI), Tuticorin, said a group of research scholars who visited Vaan Island two weeks ago found that the island had split into two. The researchers said the northern portion measures three hectares and estimated the southern part to be 2.7 hectares. "The two parts of the island are as much as 40 metres apart," Edward said.
Alarmingly, he said, Vaan Island, which was initially spread across 16 hectares, had shrunk by around 10.3 hectares to its current 5.7 hectares in less than three decades. Vaan Island is the southernmost of the 21 islands in the Gulf of Mannar.
"Rampant coral mining by people of the fishing villages along the coast is the main cause of the devastation to the island," Edward said. Coral mining was banned in 2005, but the damage had already been done, he said.
The Gulf of Mannar, off the coastal stretch between Rameswaram and Kanyakumari, is home to 4,223 species of flora and fauna, 117 species of corals, and 14 species of sea grasses. Two of the 21 islands submerged around a decade ago.
Gulf of Mannar isle splits in two, may sink - The Times of India
