News

DWC needs separate Marine Unit to manage Marine National Parks

Pigeon Island had also faced destruction in the past. In early 1980, the reef was attacked by coral-eating star fish to the point of extinction, reducing the live coral cover considerably. Subsequently, the reef recovered. Coral scientists say that Pigeon Island corals, like any ecosystem, has the ability to recover, but points out the need for management measures to assist the recovery, as it is a slow and sensitive process.

Pigeon Island is one of the Marine National Parks under the purview of the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC), which had recently started issuing tickets for visitors to the island. Though they can do very little to prevent bleaching, they can definitely help in the recovery of Pigeon Island’s coral Reef. However, DWC activities are sadly restricted to issuing and supervision of tickets on the island, some foot-patrols on the beach, and a few boat trips. A DWC officer confirms that wildlife officers are unaware of the seriousness of the threat faced by underwater corals.

But they are not to be totally blamed. All DWC officers are trained to manage land-based national parks. But, if the two ecosystems are compared, destruction of the corals is similar to the destruction of half of Sinharaja forest, as coral reefs refuge a multitude of marine biodiversity- also known as the Rainforest of the ocean. But sadly this destruction is evident only to those who dive. Hence, DWC officers who do not dive or snorkel cannot monitor the underwater destruction.

At a recent biodiversity forum, it was queried as to how many DWC officers could actually swim. Diver-conservationist Dr Malik Fernando said at a Sustainable Biodiversity & Economic Development forum that they had trained a group of Hikkaduwa Wildlife Officers to dive, to monitor the reef, but all of them were transferred to another terrestrial National Park, wasting their effort. So, it is the time to establish a separate Marine Biodiversity Management Unit by the DWC, said Dr. Fernando. This unit should be given resources and should comprise of divers capable of monitoring issues related to marine ecosystems.

As a perfect example of underwater patrols, Marine Biologist Nishan Perera who dived off Pigeon Island last year, discovered illegal fishing activities going undetected even within the Marine National Park, where he came across a fish trap set up on top of the corals. Fishermen would have set it up in the morning or at night, when the DWC officers are not present at the beach. While humans can do very little to prevent coral bleaching, the DWC can definitely help in the recovery of the reef. Arresting illicit fishing is something that needs to be enforced immediately.

Dr. Terney Pradeep Kumara of the University of Ruhuna, also revealed bad impacts of fishing. After corals die, many different algae such as coral polyps grow on them, and are found in many coral colonies, disrupting the settling of new coral colonies. But there are fish such as sea urchins, which feed on these algae such as coral polyps, contributing to the speedy recovery of the reef. But sea urchins are caught in quantities by fish collectors retarding the process of a faster recovery of the reef. Therefore it is important that illicit fishing be stopped.

Top to the page  |  E-mail  |  views[1]
SocialTwist Tell-a-Friend
 
Other News Articles
Dirty petrol supplier’s stocks continue to be distributed
US uses aid weapon: Lanka may lose Rs. 1.4 billion
President makes late night call to console Norway
Vote buying, grabbing of poll cards mar northern elections
Lanka: No common fishing zone
Another LC poll before budget
Insider trading regulations kill market: Top investor
Market forces toll the knell to affordable education
Dambulla Hospital: Health Services Director sets out his position -- Right of reply
Record entries for Journalism Awards on Tuesday
Lankan soldiers sent back from TN: Indian reports
Thisara wins prestigious Geoffrey Bawa Award
Born again into a life worth living for
Berman: Marathon foreign policy markup was a “series of tantrums”
Near extinct fish faces death by dynamite
Beware! Don’t get entangled in the net
We will weed out this terrorism as we did the LTTE
The fight will continue, vow academics
No move to drive jumbos from Hambantota: Official
Unwanted post-war babies abandoned or killed in North
Moves to ratify convention on domestic workers underway
Search on for vessel missing at sea
DWC needs separate Marine Unit to manage Marine National Parks
Pigeon Island a coral tomb
No local solutions: Sri Lankans in search of divine intervention
New IGP in the saddle
Election Law violations dominate LG polls

 

 
Reproduction of articles permitted when used without any alterations to contents and a link to the source page.
© Copyright 1996 - 2011 | Wijeya Newspapers Ltd.Colombo. Sri Lanka. All Rights Reserved | Site best viewed in IE ver 8.0 @ 1024 x 768 resolution