Gulf of Kutch

Gulf of Kutch is the largest coastal habitat in the West coast of India. It is a shallow water body with depth extending from 60 m at the mouth to less than 20 m at the head of the Gulf. Average depth is 30 meters. Around the Lushington Island, the depth is just 5 meters.

• Bordered by Katch in the north and Saurashtra in the south.
• Home to a Marine National Park and Marine Sanctuary at the southern shore, which includes 42 islands and a complex of fringing reefs backed by mudflats and sand flats, coastal salt marsh and mangrove forests, sand and rocky beaches which support a great diversity of fauna and flora.
• Many islands are fringed with corals and mangroves which provide disturbance free habitats for many species of nesting birds.
• Apart from the islands, there are a large number of wavecuts (eroded shallow banks) such as Pirothan, Deda, Donna, Sankhodhar Beyt, Paga, Adatra and Boria, many of them have corals within.
• Gulf of Katch is the home for more than 800 species of organisms; 32 hard corals (Scleractinia) and 12 soft corals (Alcyonaria), 150-200 species of fishes, more than 100 species of algae, great diversity of sponges and worms, brittlestars, marine turtles and other reptiles, over 200 species of migratory and resident bird species.
• Gulf of Katch is home to the rare and endangered marine mammal, the dugong (Sea Cow).
• Gulf of Kutch produces 95% of the salt requirements of the country. Salt pans are located close to inter-tidal area and deep into the land.
• Gulf of Katch area is home for intermediate and major ports like Kandla, Adani, Okha and Salaya. Kandla is one of the major ports of India.
• The Asia’s largest oil refinery is located at Jamnagar in the Gulf of Kutch.