General Features and Fisheries Potential of Palk Bay, Palk Strait and its Environs

Abstract

The issue of possible social and environmental impacts of the shipping canal proposed for the Palk Bay and Palk Strait area is a much debated topic. Therefore it is necessary to explore the general features of the said area to assess such impacts when formulating the development and management programmes relevant to the area. This paper discussed the general features of the area, its environmental and ecological condition and the fisheries potential in detail so as to give some insight to the reader on this important topic. This article is based on the data collected from earlier field visits and other published information relevant to the subject.

Habitat Preference and Population Structure of Two Data Deficient Seahorse (Syngnathidae) Species

“…H. fuscus has been reported from shallow protected bays with calm water, algal reefs and seagrass beds up to a maximum depth of 10m (Lourie et al, 2004). In Sri Lanka, it is known to occur around the Jaffna Peninsula (Vincent, 1994a(Vincent, & 1994b, an area with shallow lagoons and extensive seagrass habitats (Sivalingam, 2005 (Lourie et al, 2004;Harasti et al, 2012).…”

Why do satellite imageries show exceptionally high chlorophyll in the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Bay during the Norteast Monsoon?

“…358 in the Ramsethu region (square II). Also see similar representation in Sivalingam (2005) B a y o f B e n g a l ( B o B ) i n t h e e a s t . T h e Rameswaram (Pamban) Island of India, Ramsethu (Adam's Bridge), and Mannar Island of Sri Lanka act as physical barriers that inhibit the exchange of waters between the GoM and the PB (Fig.…”

Important physico-chemical parameters and sediment characteristics of some selected sites in the Jaffna estuary

“…Conversely, Sivalingam (2005) reported salinity values for wet season and dry season at some locations in the Jaffna estuary, which were 10.3 ppt in December and 45.5 ppt in June respectively. Sachithananthan (1969) also reported that the salinity of the Jaffna estuary varied from a maximum of 45·5 ppt during July-August to a minimum of 10·4 ppt during December.…”

“…The ecology of the estuary is determined to a large extent by freshwater inputs (Postma, 1981;Ittkoot et al, 2000). Spatial and temporal variations of the physico-chemical parameters in the estuaries of Sri Lanka have been analysed by several authors (Sachithananthan, 1969;Sachithananthan and Perera, 1970;Sivalingam, 2005;Niroshana et al, 2013).…”