Reef or sea, India
The Andaman Islands
India's richest coral reefs, in the Andaman Sea, with clownfish, humphead wrasse and large reef predators.
The Andaman Islands lie in the Bay of Bengal, closer to Myanmar than to mainland India. Their fringing reefs, sea grass beds and mangroves hold the most diverse coral reef fish in Indian waters. Mahatma Gandhi Marine National Park at Wandoor near Port Blair, set up in 1983, and the reefs off Swaraj Dweep (Havelock) are popular for snorkelling and diving.
Reef fish
Surveys by the Zoological Survey of India have recorded well over a thousand fish species in Andaman and Nicobar waters. Clownfish live among anemones on the shallow reefs, schools of fusiliers and snappers swirl over the coral, and large fish such as the humphead wrasse, the green humphead parrotfish, giant trevally and reef sharks patrol the deeper edges. The islands' mangroves are nurseries for many of these fish.
Tsunami, bleaching and fishing
The 2004 earthquake and tsunami lifted parts of the islands and sank others, killing or exposing reefs in places. Bleaching in 2010 and later years hit corals again. Fishing pressure has grown, including illegal fishing by boats from other countries, and large reef fish such as groupers and the humphead wrasse are sought for live and frozen export. Large parts of the reefs are protected, but enforcement across so many islands is difficult.
Still to be written: Clark's anemonefish, Humphead wrasse, Green humphead parrotfish, Giant trevally, Moorish idol.