[ExtremeTorque]

I was not sure what to expect from a Marine sanctuary. The guide, Ahmed, turned out to be quite a knowledgeble guy. Years of guiding tourists famaliarized him with the English names of marine species. The reef is a mangrove type of reef and is guided completely by the tidal movement. Ahmed explained that there are many species of fish, corals and squids that make this reef their homes. The octopus, though rare and out of season can be seen sometimes. Its just your luck. And then there are sea flowers that the moment you touch disappear into the sand.

These formations are due to the receding tidal waves







A KM into the sea and we hit the CORAL REEF. This is just a feet deep of water for about 2-3 KM.



The guide asked us to touch these. We do and 'plonk' they go into the sand. These are Sea flowers (not plants but coral)





Ahmed starts searching for something, frequently lifting the corals with this iron prod

Ahmed at work



And finds some sea sponge under the coral



And a spider crab



Tide just started coming in, bringing in the marine life



This is how deep it was

[aargee]

What??? Permit for visiting the Marine wild life? That too for a citizen? These were my thoughts, but then on going through Jamnagar, the Unique Coral Walking Area, I understood the justification.

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by aargee

What??? Permit for visiting the Marine wild life? That too for a citizen? These were my thoughts, but then on going through Jamnagar, the Unique Coral Walking Area, I understood the justification.

Just to add to that, it is illegal to carry back, break or otherwise disrupt the corals in that area. Firstly, your guide would protest, and in the extreme case that you still manage to carry back any of the coral or marine life from there, you are highly likely to be arrested under the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act since the guide will quietly report you to the cops instead of going into a confrontation with you.

Though I'm now itching to share my own pics of Pirotan Island with all of you, I think I'll desist from hijacking ExtremeTorque's thread , let him finish, and start up another of my own later on!

[MX6]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

Just to add to that, it is illegal to carry back, break or otherwise disrupt the corals in that area. Firstly, your guide would protest, and in the extreme case that you still manage to carry back any of the coral or marine life from there, you are highly likely to be arrested under the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act since the guide will quietly report you to the cops instead of going into a confrontation with you.

Forget about what can happen to you if you try to smuggle coral from there. Let's look at what will happen to the corals.
Corals don't like to be touched. They take 1000s or even millions of years to form. One touch unbalances them.
In US, touching corals is a federal crime. They can even die.
So let's not do anything to destroy the fragile environment there.

Anyway, looking at ETs comment on how Vitamin M let them in, I wouldn't be surprised, if they resort to selling corals, like it happens in Kanyakumari and Rameshwaram areas.

ET. You are on full flow here. Back to back logues! Way to go. I need to outsource some work to you I guess. On log is rusting for long. If I mention the name, Khoj will climb my back again like Bikram and Betal.

[aargee]

@Doc - That's news to me. I was under the impression that corals existed in India as part of some lone islands like Andaman or Lakshadeeps; its surprising to see Corals in our own land, I mean, non islands. True that we have every part of the world in our country & its sad that we run abroad to make money.

[MX6]

@aargee. The 3000 crore sethusamudram project is infact destroying loads and loads of corals. You need not go all the way to lone islands. The sita's necklace is all corals.

[ExtremeTorque]

Ahmed continued his multi-tasking, story telling and searching for fishes. He suddenly stops, puts his hands in the water and tries picking up something. I initially think some coral or crab. Once out of the water, i am shocked.

He just picked the worlds 2nd most poisenous fish - The Puffer.



I remember learning this in school about how it is served as an exotic delicacy in Japan and how many people lost their lives to this amazing but deadly fish. And here is our man. picking it up with bare hands and asking us to touch it.



The Puffer is making loud squishing noise through its teeth. It is squirting all the water it took in to bloat itself. Ahmed tells us that it has razor sharp teeth like that of the marsupials and can survive out of the water for 3 hours.

Showing us the puffers teeth



I decide that there is no way i am going to touch it and ask wife not to touch it too. She promptly goes to inspect it with her fingers.





Ahmed again tries to reassures that they have grown with such fishes and it is ok to touch them.

I finally muster courage





Then we let it free. Nothing like seeing a living being in its natural habitat, free

[SafeDrive]

Was it a wise thing to do? Should we be going into their habitat and stressing them out? I agree it's beautiful and exotic but some measures need to be taken.

[ExtremeTorque]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

Just to add to that, it is illegal to carry back, break or otherwise disrupt the corals in that area. Firstly, your guide would protest, and in the extreme case that you still manage to carry back any of the coral or marine life from there, you are highly likely to be arrested under the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act since the guide will quietly report you to the cops instead of going into a confrontation with you.

Though I'm now itching to share my own pics of Pirotan Island with all of you, I think I'll desist from hijacking ExtremeTorque's thread , let him finish, and start up another of my own later on!

Thanks SST. The gentleman that you are, i will signal once i am done and please continue with Pirotal island photos.

About the corals, i learnt about them mostly on TBHP from people like you, MX6 and at Narara, we were too excited to even touch any of them and savouring them with our eyes.

@MX6, again. This was long pending and since i had started the threads on Tadoba, i wanted to share this one on Narara. Dwarka was just a precursor and indicator of what triggered my Narara Trip.

Outsourcing! My bread and butter. Bring it on!

[ExtremeTorque]

Originally Posted by SafeDrive

Was it a wise thing to do? Should we be going into their habitat and stressing them out? I agree it's beautiful and exotic but some measures need to be taken.

SD, i think it is ok for a very few minutes. Yes, our interaction with the puffer lasted only 2-3 minutes. Our guide Ahmed was a very learned guy and very particular about safeguarding the reef and its inhabitants. As long as we have such experienced guys, some interaction is ok, i guess.

[TaureanBull]

Beautiful pics. Well again I was not aware of this place. I can see ET in actions with many threads running simultaneously.

The wildlife protection in India is a joke. We all know about whats happening to the tigers and all.

Sorry ET. OT :

There is Rushikulya River in Ganjam District in Orissa. It forms a delta there. It is the only other place than Mexico in the world where OG Ridley Turtles breed. The time to spot hundreds of adults is Dec/Jan and the small babies in Feb. As most of you have seen in Discovery Channel only 1-2% survive. The eggs are taken by villagers to sell off, dogs eat them, wild birds. Then after hatching in night they have to make it to water before morning to survive. They naturally know the direction of water but they are really small to cover those 50-100m.

There is supposed to be a guard but he does not bother. There are many street urchins near the breeding place who will "LET YOU" take the baby turtle for Rs 15-25/- So much for the care we have.

BTW, I visited this place in Feb 2006. If anyone can make it in the breeding season, its a beautiful location and time. Not known to many

[ExtremeTorque]

Originally Posted by TaureanBull

Beautiful pics. Well again I was not aware of this place. I can see ET in actions with many threads running simultaneously.

The wildlife protection in India is a joke. We all know about whats happening to the tigers and all.

Sorry ET. OT :

It is the only other place than Mexico in the world where OG Ridley Turtles breed.

Thanks TB. This was long pending from my end. So thought i will do all at once ;-)

Most of the OT's become travelogues. Now thanks to your OT, i want to visit this place. Yes, i have seen it numerous times on Discovery and NGC but never been there. Wildlife protection is a sad state of affairs. Even these islands that i visited are in danger. Coming shortly..

[ExtremeTorque]

Further up into the reef and Ahmed showed us some sea cucumbers and more species of corals.

A sea cucumber



We were enthralled by the life that inhabits these reefs and that was when our man comes up with the next item..

We just couldnt believe our luck! An OCTOPUS! He gently picks it up and starts showing it to us. It starts squirting some ink and holds on tight to Ahmeds hand usings it vacuum pads on its tentacle. Ahmed carefully asks us to feel its tentacles. Its a sucker for sure! After a couple of minutes, he places it back into the water and it quickly squiggles away.

Presenting, THE OCTOPUS





The vacuum pads under its tentacles



Back you go into the waters

[gopikb]

ExtremeTorque, Too good....The narration gets exiting as you post more and more pictures. You are truly lucky to see the puffer fish and the Octopus at such close vicinity. Waiting for more....

[CrankShaft05]

This is an amazing place to be visited. My liking for Gujarat increased after speaking to Arun and seeing these pics, although I have never been there. But surely I wanna visit this place on my way to Dwaraka in near future