NEW DELHI: The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology and Environment and Forests has suggested a detailed physical verification of coral reefs to assess accurately the status of their health in the post-tsunami scenario.

The committee said that as the influx of seawater had affected several sections of coral population in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands four research vessels were commissioned to undertake a detailed assessment of destruction. However, the panel found that the research finding was at variance with the annual report of the Department of Ocean Development.

Apprehending that certain branching corals such as acropara cytherea or stag horn corals could have been affected adversely, the committee said planning was needed to make a proper assessment of the corals and to take measures to nurse them back to health.

The committee said that for restoration and management of coral health a more realistic understanding of the ecology of coral reefs was needed. This can be achieved only by retrospective analysis, modelling and intensive studies of the eco-system structure and function of the very few isolated reefs that have survived the tsunami relatively intact.

Supporting comparative Deterioration Index (DI) study of the coral communities, the panel said this would have to be undertaken for deriving a comparative picture of analysis of the deterioration in the health of different coral groups. Training should be imparted to surveyors for fast yielding of elaborate data based upon DI of these coral communities so that a relatively accurate picture could be formed for restoration.

The panel suggested that while assessing coral health, the incidence of coral diseases could also be studied because in most cases etiology of greater number of coral diseases was still unclear and the nature of relationship between coral and their associated bacteria are not yet fully established. Since reef bleaching and mortality of coral are co-related, detailed mapping was necessary for designing a proper restoration scheme, it said.

Nursery project

The committee has recommended the development of a coral nursery project by the Department of Ocean Development to give resource managers information on various coral species and colonies. Since coral nurseries may become important tools in future, coral reef habitat restoration projects, the development of coral nursery composed of important coral schools, were necessary, it said.

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