Marvels of evolution!

Sharks are one of the great successes of evolution on earth. A basic design so good its remained unchanged for millions of years. Ruthlessly persecuted by humans due to a lack of understanding and indiscriminately slaughtered to satisfy the growing need of people craving shark fin soup these beautiful creatures are now a rare sight in most waters. Shark numbers in Sri Lanka have declined drastically and now they can only be seen in a few places around our coast. Black tip reef sharks such as this can still be seen in places such as Pigeon Island and Bar Reef, but like many other species their future remains uncertain. In his book "Reefs of Taprobane" Arthur C. Clarke states that in his first dive in Sri Lanka he got better pictures of sharks than in two years on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. A sharp contrast to the present day, where in most parts of Sri Lanka, seeing sharks is as rare as seeing a mermaid!

Pigeon Island

Healthy coral reefs abound in the shallow waters around Pigeon Island in Trincomalee. Once devastated by a Crown of Thorns starfish infestation these reefs have now recovered completely. But this balance is now being threatened by an increasing number of human activities. Despite being declared a National Park in 2003 fishing including the use of dynamite is still openly carried out on these reefs. Large numbers of visitors are also polluting the island, walking on the reef and removing corals as souvenirs. Still beautiful, this enchanting yet fragile paradise is threatened once again. As is often the case in Sri Lanka, action is lacking from those in charge and only time will decide how long paradise lasts..........but hopefully the future will hold more than a few old photographs.