Chennai: Corals taken out of water during raid at shop die

CHENNAI: A few live corals kept as exhibits at a private aquarium in Mugalivakkam died after they were wrongly handled by forest officials during a search on Friday.
Officials from the forest department and Wildlife Crime Control Bureau received a tip that live and dead corals were on sale at a private aquarium in the city. When they visited the shop posing as prospective buyers they were showed some corals, a few of them alive. They died after they were taken out of the water, said Wildlife Crime Control Bureau deputy director (Southern Region) T Uma.

A forest official said the corals on display were smuggled into the city along with some fish meant for export. Officials seized 28kg of corals and arrested two people during the search at the shop. A preliminary interrogation revealed that the two bought the corals from a shop in Kolathur. The seized comprised three species dipsastrea, acropora and pocillopora. The species are also known as blue, staghorn and cauliflower corals.
Former director of Zoological Survey of India K Venkataraman said the blue corals are found in massive colonies in Andaman and Nicobar islands and Lakshadweep. They act as natural barriers and protect the mainland from natural calamities such as tsunami and hurricanes. They are slow growing ones, which are not found in the Gulf of Mannar region in the state, he said.
Staghorn corals are fast growing species and are very sensitive to climate changes. The cauliflower corals are in great demand in the aquarium trade. A few decades ago they were found in the Gulf of Mannar region. But, due to over exploitation, their population wiped out from the region. Now they have become a rare variety, he said.
Coral colonies act as habitats for a variety of marine organisims. For example, small crabs make cauliflower corals their home. Each coral is home to a unique marine organism and removing them from water will destroy the dependent life forms, Venkataraman added.