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Ecologically
Important Areas in Kerala:
In
the present study, the Institute for Ocean Management has identified the following
sites under the category of ecologically important areas (Table 1).
Table 1: Ecologically
Important Coastal areas identified in Kerala coast
|
District |
Site |
Ecological
Importance | Latitude
& Longitude (Approx) | Area
in kmē |
| Ernakulam |
Ernakulam&
Mattancheri Channels(Thoppinpadi-Murukkumpadam) |
Mangroves |
9°58'30"-9°59'30";
76°13'20"-76°16'00" | 1.69 |
| Ernakulam |
Ernakulam&
Mattancheri Channels | Mangroves |
76°17'-76°19'
9°56'-9°57' | 0.08 |
| Kozhikode |
Chittari
Puzha & Anela Puzha (Mangad-Kollam) | Mangroves |
11°27'00"-11°27'30";
75°43'40"-75°44'10" | 0.34 |
| Kannur |
Dharmadam-Edakkad
| Mangroves |
11°46'30''-11°49'
75°28'-75°29' | 0.26
|
| Kannur |
Dharmadam
Puzha& Anjrakandi Puzha | Mangroves |
11°46'-11°48'
75°29'-75°31' | 2.46 |
| Kannur |
Valapattanam
estuary (Valapattanam-Narat) | Mangroves |
11° 55'40"-11
56'50''
75° 21'30"-75 22'00" | 0.99 |
| Kannur
| Ramapuram
Puzha (Pazhayangadi-Thekkumpad) | Mangroves |
12° 00'00"-12
03'00"
75° 16'45"-75 17'30 |
1.14 |
| Kannur |
Pazhayangadi
estuary (PattavamKuppam) | Mangroves |
12°01'-12°03'30''
75°17'30''-75°20'30'' |
4.62 |
Fig:
Indicating the Ecologically Important Areas in Kerala Coast
Geographic
Location:
Kerala
state is situated at the southwestern proximity of India (Latiude.8° 18' and 12°
48'N; Longitude.74° 52' and 77° 22'E). The total area of the state is 38,863 kmē
and the total population is 29098000(1991 census).A narrow strip on the West Coast
hugging the Arabian Sea, Kerala is bounded by Tamil Nadu and Karnataka states
in the east.
In
West Coast of India, Kerala is the largest coastline with 590km length. Kerala
coastal zone is endowed with beautiful beaches, estuaries and lagoons. The coastal
belt, a narrow strip of lowland, is the most beautiful region of Kerala, interspersed
as it is with extensive backwaters, lagoons and canals and flanked by the presence
of paddy fields and coconut trees continue to dominate the landscape.
Ecological
Importance:
Most
of the rivers in Kerala are west flowing as many as 41, which rise from the ghats
and flow down to the midlands and lowlands to the west. The` average length of
the rivers is only 64 km and the longest of them, the Bharatapuzha, is 234 km.
The major estuaries of the state are Ashtamudi, Korapuzha, Beypore and Periyar.
Vembanad lake is the largest backwater lagoon along the West Coast of India having
the length of about 113km and breadth varies from a few hundred meters to about
14.5km and covering 233kmē. The Akathumuri-Anchuthengu-Kadinamkulam backwater
system- an interconnected, shallow brackish water tract with depth not more than
5m- is situated in the southern part of Kerala. The state has extensive backwaters
and other waterways, particularly in the coastal area, and with a length of 1920kms.
Mangrove
distribution:
In
Kerala, Mangroves are distributed in Keeryad Island, northern part of Kochi Port
and Research Farm at Puthuvypin, Mahe to Dharmadam coastal belt, Mallikkad, Ashram,
Pathiramanal, Mangalavanam and in several other small bits. It is reported that
17 true mangrove species and 23 semi-mangrove species occur in the state(Unni
and Kumar, 1997). There are some dominant mangrove species recorded in Kerala
(Table.2). Mangrove area in Kerala is estimated to be about 17kmē in 1992, of
these 36% are degraded / degrading condition (Basha, 1992). Figure 1-8 shows the
mangrove areas of Kerala.
Table
2: Dominant
mangrove species and their IUCN status
| S.
No | Species
name | Family |
IUCN
status* |
| 1 |
Avicennia marina | Avicenniaceae |
EN |
| 2 |
Rhizophora mucronata | Rhizophoraceae |
VU |
| 3 |
Excoecaria agallocha | Euphorbiaceae |
VU |
| 4 |
Acrostichum aureum | Pteridaceae |
LRlc |
| 5 |
Acanthus ilicifolius | Acanthaceae |
EN |
| 6 |
Cerebra manghas | Apocynaceae |
EN |
*EN-Endangered; VU-Vulnerable;LRlc-Lower
Risk least concern
Fishery:
The
state accounts for a large share of marine products. 52 species of fishes are
known to occur in Kerala in association with the mangroves. Fish both for local
and internal Indian consumption and for the export market is produced from abundant
seawater and backwater. The extensive coastline and large number of backwater
and freshwater streams provide with abundant fish. The important species of fish
are Oil Sardine, Sole, Shark, Silverbellies,
Catfish, Seer, Mackaeral, Pomfret, Ribbonfish, Skates,Whalebait,
Chirocentrus,
Prawns, Crabs, etc. Some of the dominant fishes recorded in the mangrove areas
are of Mugil
cephalus, Mugil cunnesius, Mugil parsia, Lates calcarifer, Chanos chanos, Etroplus
suratensis, Tachysurs sp.etc.
