Gulf of Kutch Marine

The Gulf of Kutch Marine National Park was declared in 1980 on the southern shore of the gulf of the same name, in the state of Gujarat, and was India's first marine national park. It protects some 163 km² around an archipelago of forty-two islands off the coast of Jamnagar.

Its value lies in the combination of tropical coastal ecosystems: coral reefs, seagrass meadows, mangroves, intertidal mudflats and rocky shores. The reefs of the Gulf of Kutch are among the few left in north-western India and lie close to the northern limit of coral distribution in the Indian Ocean, which makes them especially interesting scientifically and especially vulnerable.

The gulf's tides have a great range, and at low water enormous expanses of seabed are exposed, allowing part of the reef to be walked, an unusual way to visit. The wildlife includes dugong, though in a critical state, coastal dolphins, marine turtles and an abundant wader and seabird fauna, with flamingos in the nearby marshes. The main threat is industrial pressure: the gulf concentrates refineries, ports and chemical plants, and pollution and shipping traffic govern the conservation of the area.