Marine National Park, Gulf of Kutch

Marine National Park lies along the Gulf of Kutch off the southern shore of Gujarat in Devbhumi Dwarka district near Jamnagar, covering about 163 square kilometers of coral reef and mangrove ecosystem across 42 islands, the best known being Pirotan, protected since 1982. The waters of the park hold more than 40 species of sponges, 40 species of hard coral and 10 species of soft coral alongside whale sharks, sea turtles, dugongs and dolphins, and its mudflats host a greater flamingo colony that has reached as many as 20000 nests, though the ecosystem faces pressure from coral extraction, sand mining, industrial pollution and mechanized fishing.