Seen along state’s coast for the first time, the species indicate healthy marine life in the region.
As the state celebrates its 50th birthday, this seems to be nature's gift to Gujarat. Scientists have recorded some thirteen new species of corals and sea slugs on the coast of Gujarat.
Scientists of the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) have recently discovered eight species of hard coral in Porbandar. In recent memory, this is perhaps the first time that coral presence has been recorded along the coast in Probandar district. Further, three species of sea slugs have also been recorded for the first time in Indian waters - from Dwarka and Okha.
Last but not the least two new species of soft coral have been recorded in the Gulf of Kutch. These species were earlier found in the Gulf of Mannar but never along the Gujarat coast.
"The sighting of any new species is a very important development. The most important discovery is that of the sea slugs. It highlights the need to focus on their global distribution. As these species are generally found in Latin America, we need to know how they came here," said Dishant Parasharya, a BNHS scientist. Parasharya is working on a project of the Union ministry of environment and forests under which various new sightings have been recorded.
The recent discoveries have been hailed by the community of scientists and marine researchers in the country. Some species are an indicator of the good health of the marine ecology here and the sea slugs, for instance, are a subject of great interest to biologists for their bioactive compounds used in drug preparations.
The area in Porbandar where the new species of coral have been recorded is rocky with patchy coral formations. "This is one of the rare records of occurrence of hard coral on the Saurashtra coast towards the Arabian Sea. Dwarka, Veraval, Diu and Mahuva have patchy coral formations, but this site has not been mentioned in available literature," Parasharya says, adding that though the site in Porbandar is good for nature education, it may not be suited for tourism development.
Vinod Gajjar, a keen photographer who has assisted the BNHS teams with his skillful photography, says that by now, the project has worked on 450 different species in the Gulf of Kutch and Saurashtra. "These include soft and hard coral, and a variety of marine life including all flora and fauna," Gajjar said.
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