Indian shores

India has an estimated 18,000 square kilometres of coral reefs, mainly located around the Lakshwadweep and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The Gulf of Kutch and the Gulf of Mannar also have small stretches of coral reefs. But all's not well with the underwater paradise in these areas.

A study by Port Blair-based Society for Andaman and Nicobar Ecology (SANE), a non-governmental organisation, reported widespread bleaching of corals on the Andaman and Nicobar coast. R Soundararajan of SANE and his team members noticed this "mass bleaching' phenomenon in the coral reefs throughout the length and breadth of the islands in early May 1998. The study of five sites along a 40-km stretch around the islands found almost 100 per cent bleaching in the Andaman reefs and 30 to 70 per cent in Nicobar. The Andaman Sea was 2