Muthupet
:
Muthupet
mangrove swamp is in close association with the coastal wetlands of Vedaranyam
spreading an area of approximately 6800ha, of which 77.20ha is occupied by well-grown
mangrove and the remaining area is covered by poorly grown mangrove vegetation.
The
aquatic fauna comprises juvenile
and adults
of finfishes, shrimps, molluscs,crabs and benthic
invertebrates.
Seaweeds are found, such as Chaetomorpha,
Enteromorpha, Gracilaria, Hypnea etc.
Mangrove
zone of the forest is restricted to the edges of the brackish water lagoon where
the true mangrove species are distributed in varying degree of abundance. Avicennia
marina is the most common and abundant species, which
is followed by Excocaeria
agallocha , Aegiceras corniculatum, Acanthus ilicifolius, Suaeda maritima, Suaeda
monica etc.
Fig:
Muthupet Mangroves
Institute
for Ocean Management, Anna University had observed that there is a marked degradation
in mangrove forests comparing wetland maps of 1989 and 1996. Mangroves have degraded
in density at some of the places and have disappeared in several other places.
The degradation has occurred mostly in sparse mangrove forests due to the expansion
of saltpan and human activities. The mangrove forest at Vedaranyam is also found
to be degraded in density. However, dense mangrove forests have increased from
706 sq.m to 958 sq.m. In total, nearly 87 sq.m of total mangrove forest have degraded
in Muthupet. As Muthupet area is dry for the most of the year, human activity
like cutting of wood for fuel, grazing by cattles etc. grazing by cattles, etc.
have caused the degradation of mangroves.
Finfishes
constitute the bulk of the total fishery in Muthupet mangroves. Mugil
cephalus, Liza sp,Chanos sp, Siganus sp, and Etroplus sp are common.
The prawn fishery is dominated by Penaeus
indicus, Penaeus monodon, Metapenaeus dobsoni, Metapenaeus monoceras and Macrobranchium
sp and the crabs such as
Scylla serrata and Portunus pelagicus, oysters (Crassostrea madrasensis)
and clams
(Meretrix meretrix) are commercially important molluscs and birds found
recorded in this area are Herons,
Egrets, Kingfishers, Myna, Plovers, and Sand Pipers.
