Laccadive Sea

2022-05-06T10:57:52Z

37.211.253.185:

{{Short description|A body of water bordering India, the Maldives, and Sri Lanka.}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}}
{{Infobox sea
| name = Laccadive Sea
| image = Laccadive Sea-Indian subcontinent CIA.png
| caption = Location of Laccadive Sea
| alt = Location of Laccadive Sea
| pushpin_map = India
| pushpin_map_alt = Location of Laccadive Sea
| image_bathymetry =
| alt_bathymetry = Bathymetry
| caption_bathymetry =
| location =
| coords = {{Coord|08||N|75||E|name=Laccadive Sea|region:XZ_type:waterbody_scale:5000000|display=title,inline}}
| type = [[Sea]]
| inflow =
| outflow =
| catchment =
| basin_countries = [[India]], [[Sri Lanka]], [[Maldives]]
| length =
| width =
| area = {{convert|786000|km2|sqmi|-2|abbr=on}}
| depth = {{convert|1929|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}
| max-depth = {{convert|4131|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}
| volume =
| residence_time =
| shore =
| elevation =
| frozen =
| islands =
| islands_category =
| cities =
| reference = <ref name=r1>{{Cite book|url=http://slovari.yandex.ru/%D0%9B%D0%B0%D0%BA%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%B4%D0%B8%D0%B2%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B5%20%D0%BC%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B5/%D0%93%D0%B5%D0%BE%D0%B3%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%84%D0%B8%D1%87%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B5%20%D0%BD%D0%B0%D0%B7%D0%B2%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%8F/%D0%9B%D0%B0%D0%BA%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%B4%D0%B8%D0%B2%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B5%20%D0%BC%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B5/|title=Dictionary of modern geographical names: Laccadive Sea|editor=V. M. Kotlyakov|year=2006|language=ru|access-date=19 July 2010|archive-date=10 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200610201103/http://slovari.yandex.ru/%D0%9B%D0%B0%D0%BA%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%B4%D0%B8%D0%B2%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B5%20%D0%BC%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B5/%D0%93%D0%B5%D0%BE%D0%B3%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%84%D0%B8%D1%87%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B5%20%D0%BD%D0%B0%D0%B7%D0%B2%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%8F/%D0%9B%D0%B0%D0%BA%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%B4%D0%B8%D0%B2%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B5%20%D0%BC%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B5/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
}}

The '''Laccadive Sea''' or '''Lakshadweep Sea''' or '''ലക്ഷദ്വീപ് കടൽ''' is a body of water bordering [[India]] (including its [[Lakshadweep]] islands), the [[Maldives]], and [[Sri Lanka]]. It is located to the southwest of [[Karnataka]], to the west of [[Kerala]] and to the south of [[Tamil Nadu]]. This warm sea has a stable water temperature through the year and is rich in marine life, the [[Gulf of Mannar]] alone hosting about 3,600 species. [[Mangaluru]], [[Kannur]], [[Kozhikode]], [[Ponnani]], [[Kochi]], [[Alappuzha]], [[Kollam]],
[[Thiruvananthapuram]], [[Tuticorin]], [[Colombo]], and [[Malé]] are the major cities on the shore of the Laccadive Sea. [[Kanyakumari]], the southernmost tip of [[Indian subcontinent|peninsular India]], also borders this [[sea]].

==Extent==
[[File:A View of the Laccadive Sea from Villingili.JPG|right|thumb|A view of the Laccadive Sea from [[Villingili (Malé)|Villingili]]]]
The [[International Hydrographic Organization]] defines the limits of the Laccadive Sea as follows:<ref>{{cite web|url=https://iho.int/uploads/user/pubs/standards/s-23/S-23_Ed3_1953_EN.pdf|title=Limits of Oceans and Seas, 3rd edition|year=1953|publisher=International Hydrographic Organization|page=21|access-date=28 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111008191433/http://www.iho.int/iho_pubs/standard/S-23/S-23_Ed3_1953_EN.pdf|archive-date=8 October 2011}}</ref> 
[[File:Muzhappilangad beach6.jpg|thumbnail|Laccadive seashore at [[Muzhappilangad beach|Muzhappilangad]], where also the longest Drive-in beach of [[Asia]] locates]]
[[File:Kollam, Kerala.jpg|right|thumb|Laccadive sea shore at [[Kollam Beach]]]]
<blockquote>
''On the West.'' A line running from [[Sadashivgad|Sadashivgad Lt.]] on West Coast of India ({{Coord|14|48|N|74|07|E|display=inline}}) to [[Cora Divh|Corah Divh]] ({{Coord|13|42|N|72|10|E|display=inline}}) and thence down the West side of the [[Laccadive]] and [[Maldives|Maldive]] Archipelagos to the most Southerly point of [[Addu Atoll]] in the Maldives.

''On the South.'' A line running from [[Dondra Head]] in Sri Lanka to the most Southerly point of Addu Atoll.

''On the East.'' The West coasts of Sri Lanka and India.

''On the Northeast.'' [[Adam's Bridge|Adams Bridge]] (between India and Sri Lanka).
</blockquote>

==Hydrology==
Water temperature is rather constant through the year, averaging 26–28 °С in summer and 25 °С in winter. Salinity is 34‰ (parts per thousand) in the center and northern part and up to 35.5‰ in the south. The coasts are sandy but the deeper parts are covered in [[silt]]. There are numerous [[coral reef]]s in the sea, such as the Lakshadweep islands which are made up of [[atoll]]s and contain 105 coral species.<ref name=r1/><ref>[http://www.fao.org/docrep/X5627E/x5627e06.htm Coral Reefs of India: Review of Their Extent, Condition, Research and Management Status by Vineeta Hoon], Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations</ref><ref>[http://envfor.nic.in/icrmn/events/stcri00.html Status of Coral Reefs of India]. Envfor.nic.in. Retrieved on 2013-03-22. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090410115205/http://envfor.nic.in/icrmn/events/stcri00.html |date=10 April 2009 }}</ref>

==Fauna and human activities==
[[File:Pearling crew 1926.JPG|thumb|Pearl fishing in the [[Gulf of Mannar]], ca. 1926]]
The Gulf of Mannar is known for its [[pearl]] banks of ''[[Pearl oyster|Pinctada radiata]]'' and ''Pinctada fucata'' for at least two thousand years. [[Pliny the Elder]] (23–79) praised the pearl fishery of the gulf as the most productive in the world.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eUF_rS8FEoIC&pg=PA227|page=227|title=Twentieth century impressions of Ceylon: its history, people, commerce, industries, and resources|author=Arnold Wright|year=1999|isbn=978-81-206-1335-5}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=njhbCCdoMFgC&pg=PA6|page=6|title=The Indian Pearl Fisheries of the Gulf of Manar and Palk Bay|author=James Hornell|publisher=BiblioBazaar|year=2009|isbn=978-1-110-87096-7}}</ref> Although extraction of natural pearls is considered too expensive in most parts of the world, it is still conducted in the gulf.<ref name=i27/><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZwcM5H-wHNoC&pg=PA566|page=566|title=Gems: their sources, descriptions and identification|author=Michael O'Donoghue|publisher=Butterworth-Heinemann|year=2006|isbn=978-0-7506-5856-0}}</ref> Also collected in large numbers are [[Shankha]] mollusks (''Xancus pyrum'')<ref name=i27>ICSF p. 27</ref> whose shells are used as a [[ritual]] and religious object. Other mollusks of the sea<ref>[http://clade.ansp.org/obis/search.php/region3098 Taxa reported from regions in Indo-Arabia] – see Maldives, Laccadive islands</ref> are either too scarce or not popular in Indian society and therefore have no commercial value.<ref name=j1>{{Cite journal|title=India and the Indian Ocean Fisheries|url=http://eprints.cmfri.org.in/874/1/Article_03.pdf|journal=Journal of the Marine Biological Association of India|author1=R. Raghu Prasad |author2=P. V. Ramachandran Nair |volume=15|year=1973|pages=1–19}}</ref>

Another traditional occupation in the Laccadive Sea is fishing. The annual fish catch is 2,000 to 5,000 tonnes from the Lakshadweep islands, which is mostly constituted by tuna (about 70%) and shark. [[Perch]]es, [[halfbeak]]s, [[Carangidae]], [[needlefish]] and rays are also caught near the reefs. [[Shrimp]], [[Achelata]]<ref name=r1/> and small fish, such as ''[[Sprattus]]'', [[Pomacentridae]] and [[Apogonidae]] are widely used as a bait by the Laccadive islanders.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Coral reefs of the Indian Ocean: their ecology and conservation|author1=T. R. McClanahan |author2=Charles R. C. Sheppard |author3=David O. Obura |publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2000|isbn=978-0-19-512596-2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NDtCISiFS8IC&pg=PA305|page=305}}
</ref>

With about 3,600 species of flora and fauna, the Gulf of Mannar is regarded as one of the richest marine biological resources in the world. Of these 3,600 species, 44 are protected, 117 are corals, 79 crustaceans, 108 sponges, 260 mollusks, 441 fin fishes, 147 seaweeds and 17 mangroves.<ref>ICSF p.25</ref> In 1986, a group of 21 islands and nearby waters with a total area of 560 km2 were declared [[Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park]]. The park and its buffer zone were designated as a [[Biosphere Reserve]] in 1989. The [[Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve]] covers an area of 10,500 km2 of ocean, islands and the adjoining coastline, and is the largest such reserve in India. Most of its area is restricted for outsiders and the access of boats is subject to strict rules,<ref>ICSF pp. 27–30</ref> but local people continue fishing activities which they crucially depend on. About 150,000 people live in the buffer zone, and more than 70% of them depend on the coastal marine resources. There are about 125 fishing villages with 35,000 active fishers and 25,000 divers for [[sea cucumber]]s in the area, about 5,000 women collect seaweed.<ref>ICSF pp. 1–2, 21, 24, 30</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XwVX-85oI0EC&pg=PA10|page=10|title=Environment impact assessment|author1=J. Sacratees |author2=R. Karthigarani |publisher=APH Publishing|year=2008|isbn=978-81-313-0407-5}}</ref> About 106,000 tonnes of fish were produced in the gulf in 2006, mostly [[Indian Oil Sardine|oil sardines]] (''Sardinella longiceps''), lesser sardines (''[[Sardinella]] spp.''), [[ponyfish]] (''Letognathus sp.''), mackerel, [[Penaeidae|penaeid shrimp]], perches, squid (''[[Sepioteuthis arctipinn]]i''), deep-sea lobster (''[[Puerulus sewelli]]''), crab (''[[Varuna littorata]]''), [[Skate (fish)|skate]]s and rays.<ref name=j1/><ref>ICSF p. 26</ref> The seaweed collection aims at shallow-water species ''[[Gelidiella acerosa]]'' (''marikozhundu passi''), ''[[Gracilaria edulis]]'' (Agarophytes, ''Kanchi passi''), ''[[Sargassum]] spp.'' (kattakorai), Turbinaria (Alginophyte, ''[[Pakoda passi]]'') and ''[[Ulva lactuca]]'', and is conducted between October and March. Because of National Park related restrictions, the production of seaweeds declined from 5,800 tonnes (dry weight) in 1978 to 3,250 tonnes in 2003.<ref>ICSF pp. 42–43</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
{{Commons category}}

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080829121828/http://www.icsf.net/SU/Mon/EN/91/ALL.pdf Marine Protected Areas in India], International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF), April 2008, {{ISBN|978-81-904590-9-9}}

{{List of seas}}
{{Waters of South Asia}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Landforms of Lakshadweep]]
[[Category:Bodies of water of India]]
[[Category:Bodies of water of Sri Lanka]]
[[Category:Bodies of water of the Maldives]]
[[Category:Borders of India]]
[[Category:Borders of Sri Lanka]]
[[Category:Borders of the Maldives]]
[[Category:India–Sri Lanka border]]
[[Category:India–Maldives border]]
[[Category:Seas of the Indian Ocean]]
[[Category:Seas of Asia]]
[[Category:Seas of India]]

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Laccadive Sea