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Working to preserve Sri Lanka’s marine wonders
Preserving marine habitats and recording their natural gifts whilst promoting sustainable eco-tourism in shipwreck sites as a future strategy to safeguard these sites.
The Indian Ocean surrounding Sri Lanka is home to a diverse range of fish, coral and a host of other marine life including undisturbed marine forests and shipwreck sites. These underwater paradises are a treasure trove of information and potential diving location for eco-friendly divers.
Having identified marine conservation as one of its priority areas, Dilmah Conservation initiated its Marine Habitat & Species Conservation Programme to research and document some of Sri Lanka’s pristine coastal areas in the north and east. This includes research work carried out in Kayankerni, situated off the eastern coastal belt, which represents a relatively undisturbed marine environment with an abundance of associated marine life. The marine fauna and flora found within the Kayankerni reef are being documented to establish a basis for elevating its conservation status in the future.
In addition, Dilmah Conservation has been identifying potential shipwreck sites on the eastern and northern seabed in order to preserve their integrity and to document their status. Shipwrecks are identified as potential eco-tourism destinations where a multitude of marine species thrive on a man-made location. Their future survival will depend largely on their documentation and re-branding the sites as possible eco-tourism locations in the wake of a decision to salvage shipwreck sites for commercial purposes.
As part of the Marine Habitat & Species Conservation Programme, Dilmah Conservation has accorded special focus to enhancing the conservation status of shipwreck sites in Sri Lanka’s waters. Dilmah Conservation has engaged in documenting the wrecks of the British Sergeant, a merchant vessel that sank after coming under fire when it altered its course to help the aircraft carrier HMS Hermes in 1942, and SS Lady McCallum, a cargo ship which ran aground in 1926, located off the Kayankerni Reef are also being assessed towards helping protect the unique and diverse ecosystems they host.
Practicing fishery for ornamental aquariums creates adverse impacts on Sri Lanka’s marine life. If reefs are protected and the collection of fish banned at the site, these reefs are expected to improve dramatically in 3-4 years.
Kayankerni Reef in the eastern seaboard of Sri Lanka represents a relatively undisturbed marine environment with an abundance of associated marine life. This reef is unusually rich in habitat and faunal diversity compared to other similar locations. According to the findings of a limited sampling carried out, 9 species of Algae, 3 species of Seagrass, 115 species of invertebrates including 51 species of coral, 206 species of fish and 1 species of sea turtle have been documented.
In its efforts to conserve Sri Lanka’s marine life, Dilmah Conservation documents vulnerable coral reefs whilst affording special attention to enhancing the conservation status of historical shipwreck sites which are host to rich, but delicate ecosystems.
It was on such an excursion off the coast of Mannar that the Dilmah Conservation dive team encountered a number of manmade objects including an unusual remnant identified to be a chariot wheel made of a durable metal. Preliminary observations including the considerable soft coral cover indicate that these relics scattered on the ocean bed could be of substantial value.
In an endeavour to explore the site further, a special expedition was recently concluded along with representatives of the Maritime Archaeology unit, Central Cultural Fund of Sri Lanka. Preliminary expert observations have indicated that this location marks the wreck of a wooden ship belonging to either the Dutch or Portuguese period. The Portuguese colonisation of Ceylon lasted from 1505–1658, while the Dutch Period ensued from 1640 - 1796.
Aside from the durable metal wheel measuring between 100 - 120 centimetres and the noteworthy distribution of other remnants, a considerable scattering of the ship’s stone ballast was also recorded. The dispersion of stone ballast material offers noteworthy evidence of the time span to which this erstwhile vessel belonged to, as stone bricks were a traditional form of ballast which would be typically replaced by the likes of iron or led in vessels built after the industrial revolution. Historically, stones or sand were placed at the bottom of a ship’s keel to render the vessel more stable and upright, especially when a ship was sailing without a full cargo shipment.
The distinctive chariot wheel could hold important clues as to what was being transported in this vessel when it sank. The team from the Central Cultural Fund obtained samples from the site for carbon dating purposed in order to correctly approximate the years to which these artefacts belong.
