Dugong - Seagrass Conservation in Palk Bay, India

In 2007, a 600 km solo sea kayak was carried out along the coast of Tamil Nadu (southeast coast of India) for creating awareness about the conservation of local marine ecosystems including dugongs, seagrasses, coral reefs, and mangroves. In the following years, about 40000 people including school students, university students, fisherfolks, and government officials have attended our marine conservation awareness events in the last 15 years through folk music, school level awareness education programs, competitions, seminars, training, field trips, and distribution of awareness materials. This continuous awareness at the local and sub-national level has built rapport with the stakeholders for the rescue and release of dugongs, and mapping and restoration of seagrass beds.

Before this survey, there was no accurate scientific data available about the extension of seagrass beds in northern Palk Bay. The preparation started in 2010, and the actual survey started in 2013 and was published in 2018. We had to come across issues related to funding, logistics, and how to build technical knowledge within our organization. Due to poor water quality, it was difficult to map the seagrass beds using satellite imagery. So, OMCAR built a survey boat (a modified fishing boat), developed skills in GIS and acoustic methods, and scuba equipment from 2010 to 2013. With the funding from NRDMS, DST, Government of India – OMCAR started to conduct the acoustic survey in shallow nearshore waters in northern Palk Bay for proposing the site as a conservation reserve.  This was the first such attempt to survey the seagrass beds using acoustic technology in India. The final reports were submitted to Government and also published in 2018. This baseline survey revealed the distribution of seagrass beds in the ‘dugong conservation reserve’ up to 35,000 hectares of northern Palk Bay, so 500 square kilometers area in and around this seagrass bed has been selected to be declared as a” Dugong Conservation Reserve” based on this research by Government. 

Restoration of seagrass beds is different from the restoration of terrestrial plants, as it needs to work underwater ecosystem. Seagrasses reproduce through sexual reproduction and vegetative reproduction. In seagrass restoration, the seagrass sprigs were removed from the donor site and transplanted to degraded sites. There were already established methods obtained from scientific publications using 1m2 PVC frames for transplanting seagrasses. Although this method is successful, we determined not to use the PVC plastics that need to be permanently fixed on the seafloor for seagrass restoration. So, OMCAR discussed with local fishers to develop an eco-friendly, low-cost method for seagrass restoration. For the first time in India, we used bamboo frames and coconut rope frames as an eco-friendly frames for fixing the transplanted seagrass sprigs from healthy sites to degraded sites. Local fishers were trained and involved in the seagrass restoration work. As both bamboo and coir ropes are available locally, they are cost-effective, and they can be presently fixed on the seafloor until they get degraded naturally. This method is now being adapted and replicated by the government for seagrass restoration in other areas of Palk Bay and the Gulf of Mannar. 

After a decade of technical and in-situ conservation experience in dugongs and seagrasses, OMCAR received recognition from Tamil Nadu Government to organize technical orientation sessions for the newly recruited trainees of Range Officers, Foresters, and Guards at our center. Since 2017, our organization received about 2500 trainees of Tamil Nadu Forest Academy cadres for organizing training sessions. Our team shares explain of the seagrass acoustic mapping methodology, seagrass restoration methods using eco-friendly cost-effective materials, how to rescue and release the dugongs, and how the networking and capacity building of fisher volunteers is effective in the conservation of dugongs, and restoration of seagrass beds. OMCAR has been providing this service on a nonprofit basis.

OMCAR signed MoU with government institutions (Wild Life Institute of India and Sacon) to work with other stakeholders efficiently and quickly respond to the dugong rescue and release in Palk Bay. With the partnership of Tamil Nadu Forest Department and Wild Life Institute of India, OMCAR established “Friends of Dugongs” in every fisher village in northern Palk Bay. The volunteers were trained to respond to a dugong strandings, and how to organise rescue and release with forest department. The volunteers have been actively supporting to share the information about dugong sightings, rescued and released dugongs in the past six years. As a result, several dugongs have been rescued and released in Palk Bay, and fishers received rewards and honoured by government. OMCAR published its stranded marine mammals record in a scientific journal, which helped as evidence for the need for the establishment of conservation reserve. 

With the partnership of Wild Life Institute of India, OMCAR has been providing technical support to the Forest department in Pudukkottai and Thanjavur district for creating the boundary of dugong conservation reserve based on our published acoustic survey results from NRDMS, Department of Science and Technology project. OMCAR experts had been working with frontline staff, district forest office, and Conservator office for developing the plan, GIS mapping of the dugong conservation reserve, and by sharing the data of its 12 years of marine mammal stranding observations in northern Palk Bay.