This presentation deals with various economic benefits associated with reefs and associated ecosystems.

1. ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE OF
CORAL REEFS
KANTHARAJAN G
AEM-PA6-01
ICAR-CIFE

2. INTRODUCTION
Coral reefs - important for nature, also represent a very high value for
humankind
Supporting millions of people
as a source of food & income
The most biologically diverse and economically valuable
ecosystems on the planet
Cesar Environmental Economics Consulting, 2003
Armin Sahari (a fisherman from Tomia village in
Wakatobi, Indonesia) returns to his village after a
night of fishing
Functions of coral reefs
considered as those of forests
At least 500 mil. people rely on
reefs for food, coastal
protection, & livelihoods

3. BIODIVERSITY
FISHERIES
TOURISM
COASTAL PROTECTION

4. GLOBAL VALUES
World’s coral reefs total net
benefit is $29.8 billion/yr
Tourism & recreation account for $9.6 billion/yr
Coastal protection for $9.0 billion/yr
Fisheries for $5.7 billion/yr
Biodiversity for $5.5 billion/yr
SOURCE: www.reefresilience.org

5. One among the most biologically rich ecosystems on earth
4,000 species of fish & 800 species of reef-building corals (The UN
Atlas of the Oceans)
 Occupying < 1% of the ocean floor, home to > 25% of marine life
 Diverse ecosystem - more resilient to changing conditions & can
withstand significant disturbances.
 Diversity is important for a variety of reasons - Survival of life
Biodiverse ecosystems, provide nursery habitat to edible fish
species, which would be difficult and expensive to reproduce
artificially.
REEFs & BIODIVERSITY

6. REEF ecosystem Biodiversity
Brightly colored, spotted, striped, speckled
Eating different kinds of algae
Sharks, groupers, and other predatory fish keep populations of smaller fish &
other organisms in balance
Parrotfish scrape at the coral to get to the small algae living inside the coral
polyp, then grind up the coral skeleton with teeth in their throats and excrete
it as sand
“Cleaner” fish (and shrimp) keep other fish healthy by freeing them of
parasites
Crabs & sea cucumbers crawl about, scavenging & cleaning up detritus on the
reef & ocean floor
Worms filter organic matter in the water and sediments, while Gastropods
such as limpets and conchs graze on algae.

7. 798 reef associated fishes from A&N Islands
- Highest among Indian reef fish diversity
- Wrasses dominant
- 400 Spp. Commercial important food fishes (Rajan et al., 2012)
REEF fish diversity
365 species of fishes from GoK coral reef
Venkatramani et al. (2005) reported 113 species of ornamental fishes
throughout the Gulf of Mannar region
SOURCE:http://www.academia.edu/5435425/18_The_contribution_of_coral_reef_fishes_to_Andaman_fisheries_production_Grouper_fishery_and_its
_monitoring_and_implications_for_management

8.  An est. 6 mil. fishermen in 99 reef countries & territories worldwide
 Supporters of subsistence and commercial fisheries
 Approximately 5-15 t of fish and seafood products can be yielded per km2 of
reef on a healthy reef system
 Coral reefs provide essential shelter, feeding, nursery and spawning
grounds for a number of marine organisms including reef-associated fish
 On average, reef-associated fish catch can also account for 25% of the
total fish catch in developing countries.
REEFs & Fisheries
SOURCE: http://coral.org

9. In developing countries, contribute towards poverty alleviation by providing
food, income & employment
Major source of fisheries in Indonesia, Philippines, India, Vietnam, & China
In Southeast Asia, coral reef fisheries alone are estimated to yield US$ 2.4
billion annually while the annual net benefits from coral reef fisheries
worldwide in 2010 were valued at an estimated US$ 6.8 billion
The removal and processing of these foods for markets provides enormous
opportunities for employment on fishing vessels as well as in factories and in
local, national & global markets

10. Reef associated Ornamental fisheries in GoM
Collection of marine ornamentals is mainly done by using fish
traps, scoop nets & skin diving
Fish traps - indigenous bottom set gears that are left overnight
and are pulled out during the next visit the following day
It is an effective and safe method to collect the reef fishes
because there is no or minimal damage.
Scoop nets and skin diving methods are also useful at times for
collecting lethargic movers like clowns or gobid fishes - result in
some kind of extra stress or loss of scales from the bodies of the
collected fishes.
Fishermen engaged in the collection of marine ornamentals make
from Rs. 6000 to Rs. 8000 per month.
Some fishermen from Kanyakumari and Vizhinjam in Kerala are
also involved
After collection, the fishes are brought to Mandapam where they
are quarantined and then exported.

11. People the world over visit coral reefs to enjoy the recreational opportunities …
Snorkeling
Glass-bottom-boat viewing
Alternative to destructive fishing practices
SCUBA diving
About 13 lakh tourists had visited Sindhudurg in 2015
Reefs & Tourism

12.  Awareness about the
ecosystem
Attract visitors from across the globe
 Recreational activities require the support of local tour
operators providing further livelihood opportunities…
 >100 countries & territories benefit from reef-associated
tourism
 Other businesses based activities : hotels, restaurants etc…
TOURISM BENEFITS OF REEFS

13. India’s Great Barrier Reef?

14. ANGRIA BANK

15. Be ready for diving – call from ANGRIA BANK
 140 km off the Malvan coast of Maharashtra,
 600 sq km plateau is a submerged reef with “rich coral diversity unlike the
shallow reefs
 During the expedition, the divers of NIO team, found corals in 10 out of
the 15 dive sites in the area
 The expedition was conducted in 2014 as part of the GoI-UNDP gef
Sindhudurg Project
 “We want the region to be a designated area for conservation under the
Maritime Zones Act, as the Angria Bank falls outside the territorial waters
but inside the EEZ of India,” – CCF, Forest Dept., MH.
 Once it is protected, the Forest Department also wants to promote Angria
Bank as a high-end diving destination - Planning to train locals as scuba
instructors & guides for the tourists
SOURCE: http://indianexpress.com/article/technology/science/indias-great-barrier-reef/

16. Without coral reefs, many beaches and buildings would become
vulnerable to wave action and storm damage.
Healthy reefs act as natural barriers, protecting coastal cities,
communities, & beaches from pounding ocean waves.
Frequent & severe storms predicted as part of climate change,
coastal protection services will become even more important
Reefs & Coastal protection

17. Contd…
Systematic search of the scientific literature & analyzed
published data on the contributions of reefs to risk reduction
-showed that coral reefs dissipate 97 % of the
wave energy that would otherwise impact shorelines.
Wave energy is a key factor in storm damage & coastal erosion
Most of the wave energy (86 %) is attenuated by the reef crest
http://coral.org/coral-reefs

18. Cost of REEFs
 Indian Ocean tsunami of December 2004, some coastlines were spared
further damage as a result of healthy reefs
 In another instance, when coral & sand was mined away in the Maldives, it
cost $10 million/km to build a wall to protect the coastline
 Act as a natural breakwater & mangroves are a natural shock absorber
http://wwf.panda.org/?17672/Coral-reefs-and-mangroves-act-as-natural-barriers-against-tsunamis
 Apprx. 1,50,000 km of coastline across 100 countries & territories receive
some protection from wave energy
 The value of shoreline protection from coral reefs, based on the anticipated
loss of property, avoided damages & the cost of building artificial shoreline
protection structures (to substitute a reef) was US$10.7 billion in 2010.

19. CORAL REEF – SEAGRASS - MANGROVES
Not only protects the coastline from erosion but prevents damage to & /or
loss of seagrass beds, mangrove forests, coastal settlements &
infrastructure.

20.  Natural medicines - effective against disease-causing agents like bacteria and
fungi already exist in nature - and could be developed into effective drugs
for humans if they can be isolated.
 Many marine organisms found on coral reefs are rich in chemical
compounds known as marine natural products (MNPs)
Reefs & Bioactive compounds
 Coral reefs are a likely place to find these natural products, due to their
tremendous biodiversity.
 Many species found in coral
ecosystems produce chemical
compounds for defense or
attack, particularly the slow-
moving or stationary species
like nudibranchs and sponges.

21. BIOPROSPECTING of REEFs
Common in terrestrial environments for decades
• Creatures found in coral ecosystems are important sources of new medicines
Referred to as the medicine cabinets of the 21st century
‘’Searching for potential new pharmaceuticals’’
To treat cancer, arthritis, asthma, ulcers, human bacterial infections,
heart disease, viruses, and other diseases; as well as sources of
nutritional supplements, enzymes, & cosmetics
The list of approved and potential new drugs is ever growing
• Finding a new drug in the sea, especially among coral reef species, may be
300 to 400 times more likely than from a terrestrial

22.  Soft coral Eleutherobia spp & encrusting Erythropodium caribaeorim coral -
production of Eleutherobin, a potent cancer cell inhibitor,
 A valuation model of anti-cancer drugs alone suggests that a 20% loss of coral
reef biodiversity would equate to a market value loss of US$112 billion - 1.14
trillion
 the Caribbean sea squirt has been found to contain an anti-cancer agent
that can be used in the in the treatment of ovarian cancer.
 Other medicines and treatments that have derived from marine organisms
include AIDS inhibitors, anti-inflammatory and anti-coagulatants as well as
use of coral bone grafts.
 The antiviral drugs Ara-A and AZT and the anticancer agent Ara-C,
developed from extracts of sponges found on a Caribbean reef, were
among the earliest modern medicines obtained from coral reefs
BIOPROSPECTING of REEFs

23. Indian Context
Sponge-associated bacteria of Lakshadweep coral reefs - extracellular
hydrolytic enzymes (Amylase and phosphatase )
Aspergillus terreus collected from Sinularia kavarattiensis – Aspernolide A,
shows Acytotoxic & Anticancer activities
Sesquiterpene compound isolated from S. kavarattiensis & Cladiella krempfi –
from Mandapam & Lakshadweep – shows anti-inflammatory and anti-fouling
properties (Kalyan et al., 2017)
SOURCE: file:///C:/Users/user/Downloads/IJMS%2046(4)%20647-662.pdf
http://drs.nio.org/drs/bitstream/handle/2264/4574/Mar_Drugs_12_4045.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
 Antifouling activity of a novel diterpene, 6- hydroxy polyanthellin isolated
from Cladiella sp., collected from shallow waters around Kavaratti Island,
Lakshadweep archipelago, against the fouling diatom, Navicula transitans.
 Indian soft coral, S. kavarattiensis, showed promising activity
against the CHIKV replicon. (Lillsunde et al., 2014)

24. U.S. bioprospecting group collected 1,600 kg of a sea hare to isolate 10 mg
of a compound used to fight melanoma.
Another group collected 2,400 kg of an Indo-Pacific sponge to produce 1 mg
of an anticancer compound. Yet, as much as 1 kg of a bioactive metabolite
may ultimately be required for drug development.
ASSOCIATED THREAT
SOURCE: Bruckner, Andrew W. "Life-Saving Products from Coral Reefs." Issues in Science and
Technology 18, no. 3 (Spring 2002).

25. CONCLUSION
Coral reefs provide innumerous benefits to human community
At the same time pose huge Anthropocene threats
Valuation of Indian coral reef context needs much attention from
researchers
The sustainable utility of these ecosystem can be ensured by effective
conservation & management

26. THANK YOU
A view of SINDHUDURG FORT, MALVAN MPA, Maharashtra, India