‘Schools kids must learn about conserving ocean biodiversity’

CHENNAI: Coral reef restoration is the need of the hour to prevent human extinction, says scientist Ch Sathya Narayana, Marine Biological Research Centre, Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), Chennai.

In an interaction with DT Next, he explains the rescue and rehabilitation of marine organisms ranging from coral reefs to sea horses. “Coral reefs are under severe pressure and ZSI has successfully restored damaged reefs on the Gujarat coast. Through electric current, we can grow the reefs faster and scientific research works are on,” he explains.

There are several misconceptions about marine creatures. For instance, there were viral videos of stingrays being killed by supporters of herpetologist Steve Irvin, who died after being stung by a stingray.

“It’s a case of an accident but the people’s behaviour turned violent towards stingrays,” rues Sathya Narayana. “Similarly, movies like Finding Nemo created a huge demand for clownfish and anemonefishes leading to the capture of wild fish.”

He stresses on the need for more awareness among the public and particularly, school kids who “should be exposed to marine conservation”. “Not many know that starfish, when cut into pieces, can grow into individual animals due to their regenerative characteristics. Similarly, crabs can shed their injured legs and can re-grow the limbs,” he points out.

Besides the big fish, small organisms like sea horses and sea cucumber are fished out in large numbers from the Indian Ocean to meet the international aphrodisiac, medicinal and aquarium market. “The mushrooming marine aquarium market is also a threat to rare anemones and clownfish,” noted the marine biologist.