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Marine park for Gujarat
by Ashok Solanki

     Jamnagar (Gujarat): A marine national park at Narara Bet in Gujarat is attracting a large number of tourists, as diverse aquatic species are available here. Various species like live coral, live shell, algae plants, live oyster, prawns and crabs can easily be seen floating and unwinding in the shallow waters of the park. "The sea in Gujarat is specifically different from other seas of the country because marine life here can be seen simply walking in low tide. You can experience something like this in very few places in the world. One has to go underwater even in the Great Barrier Reef, where a variety of corals and marine life is found," said B K Shilu, Forest Officer, Narara Range . Due to its rich marine life and easy accessibility, this park is proving to be an ideal place for school children to understand marine life. "The marine species like starfish, jellyfish which are mentioned in books, are caught here and shown to children. They learn in a better way here," said Keshubhai Ghetia, a Science teacher who visited the park with his students. The park is one of the 42 islands in the Arabian Sea which is covered by coral reefs and mangrove swamps which promise to be a paradise for marine life lovers. This island boasts of diverse flora and fauna including algae, coral, fishes, prawns, turtles, sea snakes, sea birds. "We saw octopus, which was very slippery and puffer fish. It has very small teeth and it is very long. I am feeling very nice. Even the accommodation facilities are available here," said Kishore Singh Jadeja, a student.
-January 19,  2008