Reasons why you should not skip these marine wildlife parks in India

Did you ever wonder about the kind of lives that call our oceans home? The marine ecosystem is home to the most diverse flora and fauna to exist on this planet. When the planet is 71% water, what we know about marine life might be just scraping the surface.

India has a total of 7,516.6 km of coastline spread across 9 states and four Union Territories. Such a vast area and we still don’t know a lot about India’s marine biodiversity. That can change, and we can start by exploring our marine wildlife parks. In India, there are six marine wildlife parks in total.

Starting with the list with the largest; India's first Marine Wildlife Sanctuary and first Marine National Park is located in the Gulf of Kutch, covering a total area of 458 sq km. The national park is within the sanctuary and covers an area of 163 sq km. Marine National Park is an important home to 52 known species of corals, many kinds of marine flora and fauna, dolphins, sharks and turtles. Reaching the park is pretty easy from Jamnagar. A rental boat will bring you to the park.

Mahatma Gandhi Marine National Park was set up in 1983 with the main objective to conserve and protect coral reefs and to give the sea turtles a safe home. Spread across 15 islands, the national park is very unique in nature. The park is also one of the best scuba diving spots in India. You can get up close and personal with the marine flora and fauna. One more way to enjoy the marine life is to explore the park on a glass-bottom boat.

The park is located in Rameshwaram district in Tamil Nadu. The park lies within the Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve which is located between Tamil Nadu (India) and Sri Lanka. The national park covers an area of 160 km between Thoothukudi and Dhanushkodi. The park supports various marine flora and fauna like the sea grass, varieties of corals, fishes, dolphins, blue whales and most interestingly, the vulnerable marine mammal called dugong.

Rani Jhansi Marine National Park was established in 1996. The beautiful coral reef and blue lagoons are home to crocodiles, sea turtles like Olive Ridley and leatherback, and hosts various species of mangroves. This park is also an important habitat for the dugongs, also known as sea cows.

During the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown period, Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary made big headlines and all for a very good reason. More than 4.5 lakh Olive Ridley sea turtles came to nest in the 1,435 sq km coastline of Gahirmatha. These amazing but critically endangered Olive Ridley turtles choose only Odisha’s coastlines to nest every year. One of the greatest long distance travellers, these turtles migrate all the way from the South Pacific Ocean to this part of the Indian Ocean. Looks like the mangroves are their safe place. The park enjoys the best of protection from the Odisha Government.

Come for the fish, stay for the dolphin. The park is one of the best places in India to see dolphins. Malvan Marine Wildlife Sanctuary is also a great snorkelling and diving site. Due to the park’s close proximity to Sindhudurg, it is one of the regular features on the Sindhudurg itinerary. Though the park is only 3.2 sq km, it is one of the places with the healthiest biodiversity.