The average live coral coverage inside Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park has increased to 42.9 per cent, reveals a new underwater survey conducted by Chennai-based National Centre for Coastal Research (NCCR). During 2001, the NCCR developed a Resource Information System of Gulf of Mannar (RISGOM) which is the only baseline data available currently to conduct monitoring of biodiversity in Gulf of Mannar and the coral area was only 25.76 per cent then. Thereafter, since 2018, an extensive underway survey was conducted to come out with a coral health index.
