Though corals are protected as per the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, increased anthropogenic activities near the shore coupled with a rising sea surface temperature are posing as threat.
The Union Environment Ministry will soon issue a new coastal regulatory zone notification that will enhance the government’s territorial jurisdiction up to 12 nautical miles into the sea beyond India’s coastline, official sources said.
Currently, only intertidal corals—corals between the low tide and high tide line—are protected. The planned CRZ notification is likely to ensure that corals are protected from anthropogenic activities like dredging and fishing that can indirectly have a negative impact on them. “Any restrictions on human activities close to the shore are good for nearby corals. But they also face threats from coral mining,” E Vivekanandan, a scientist at the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute in Kochi told Deccan Herald over the phone.
The proposed CRZ notification may also call for specific management plans for each island on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshwadeep. These plans will explicitly prohibit any anthropogenic activity that will have a negative impact on corals in these two archipelagos where India’s greatest coral reserves are found.