Welcome to Gujarat Marine National Park & Sanctuary
Gujarat state is endowed with vast natural resources, which essentially include marine resources, minerals, agriculture and livestock. Two of the important biodiversity hotspots in the state are the Marine Sanctuary (MS) and the Marine National Park (MNP),
which were established in 1980 and 1982 respectively, under the provision of the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972.
The main purpose of these two eco-systems is to protect and conserve the marine flora and fauna in the area. The Marine Sanctuary covered an area of 270 sq. km when it was established in 1980.
A core area of 110 sq. km was subsequently notified as the Marine Park, comprising 7000 ha area towards the west and 4000 ha towards the east. In 1982, the area of the sanctuary was increased to about 458 sq. km and the geographical spread of the MNP now
is 163 sq. km. A complex coral reef ecosystem coupled with extensive mangroves, dominated the seascape of the shallow water of the MNP.
Intertidal zones along with 42 islands in the Jamnagar, Dev Bhumi Dwarkd and Morbi districts have also been included in the marine protected areas. The MNP also known for its species diversity, as there are more than 49 species of hard corals, 23 species
of soft corals, 70 species of sponges, 421 species of fishes, 27 species of prawns, 30 species of crabs, 199 species of mollusk, 16 species of echinoderms, 172 species of birds, 3 species of sea mammals, 6 species of mangroves, 3 species of sea turtle, 108
species of brown, green and red algae, etc. The information on each of the Islands of Marine National Park, Jamnagar has been given as follows.
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Shri Nityanand Shrivastava, IFS
22.4705717
70.0576577
22.4705717
70.0576577
Welcome to Gujarat Marine National Park & Sanctuary
Jamnagar, Gujarat, 361008, India
Welcome to Gujarat Marine National Park & Sanctuary
- Colourful coral reefs, mangrove swamp forests, mudflats, sea grass, sea weeds, Saag, Sesam, Kheru, Limda and rocky shoals form the landscape of the shallow waters of the Marine National Park. These plants prevent the land based predators from penetrating
and also provides shelter to the birds for nesting and roosting purposes.
- Coral lichen, Coral sponge, Green sponge, Puffer Fish, Crabs, Prawns, Sea anemones, Jelly Fishes, Octopus, Sea hare, Shelled mollusks, Sea slug, Star fish, Dolphins, Sea turtles and various coastal birds like painted storks, herons, egrets, ibises, spoonbills,
darters, flamingos, avocet, ducks, terns, gulls, little cormorants and stints can be seen feeding on the mudflats and rocky shores, nesting on the mangrove canopies and wading in shallow coastal waters.
- Dugong or sea cow, a marine mammal that looks like sea and breed in the Arabian sea and rare species of Bonnalia, an undivided worm, was also found here.