Episode 23 – Pigeon Island National Park

Pigeon Island is even more beautiful now

I took over as Park Warden of Pigeon Island National Park on February 1, 2019. Pigeon Island, which became a sanctuary in 1963, was turned into a National Park in 2003 because of its biological importance, including the coral reefs and fish species around it. Tourists arrive to Pigeon Island National Park, which has two islands by boats. The owners of these boats are located in Trincomalee, Alaswatta, Nilaveli, Gopalapuram etc. Apart from this, there is also a boat service operated by the Navy. Pigeon Island National Park is coordinated by two ticket windows and two marinas.

During 2019, boats were run over the coral reefs. There are more tourists from February, March to September, October. About 300 to 400 boats pass over the coral reefs a day. Because of this, the beautiful ecosystem with coral reefs and fishes is destroyed. Researchers, local and foreign tourists and conservationists accused the department of not protecting coral reefs.

Although, provisions had been allocated for the conservation of coral reefs since 2018, the conservation work had stalled as it was not enough. After I arrived at Pigeon Island National Park as a Park Ranger, coral reef conservation became a priority. We wanted to put a buoyancy line to protect and develop the existing coral reefs.Accordingly,  we created a union. The villagers, environmental organizations, boat owners, divers, hotel owners and volunteers were involved in the association. I told the society that we will provide technology and labor from the Department and they should provide provisions and other requirements. The union agreed for my suggestion. Director General ChandanaSuriyarachchi approved it and Director ManjulaAmararatne gave necessary instructions. ChannaSuraweera is the head of the Marine Division at that time. Lalith Kumara is the Assistant Director in charge of Trincomalee Region.

Floating plastic balls are positioned on a buoy for the aim of long-term conservation. They should have concrete blocks underneath them. A concrete block with the dimensions 1 ½ * 1 ½ * 1 ½ feet and weighting roughly 250 kg, and having a handle on top. The block is lowered into the sea by attaching a rope to the handle. By fastening a rope to the handle, the block is lowered into the water. Divers carry out this task with the use of GPS technology. Typically, concrete blocks are dropped from a height of 20 meters. Each concrete block is then connected to a vertical beam. Both sides have fixed corners. Every two meters along here, plastic balls are tied. Once a buoy line is attached, it transforms into a boundary.

50 concrete blocks were made by the society under my supervision. 10 mm thick wire was laid to strengthen the concrete blocks. The 16 mm thick wire was used for the handle and covered with PVC to prevent eroding from sea water.

The society produced 50 concrete blocks under my direction.To make the concrete blocks stronger, 10 mm thick wire was installed.The handle was made out of 16 mm thick wire that was wrapped in PVC to stop eroding from seawater.The concrete blocks needed to be moved to the beach and the to the designated spot.We loaded it onto the tractor because we don’t have any equipment and drove it to the beach where we loaded it onto the boat.Every task was completed by hand.The three people loaded these onto the tractor and the boat while standing on either side of an iron pipe.

A boat can carry only one or two concrete blocks. After loading the block into the boat with difficulty, we carry it for 3 kilometers. Concrete blocks were placed in 10-15 feet shallow water. The empty barrels were placed in the water and the concrete blocks were placed in them. This work helped our divers as well as the divers who volunteered. 12 mm nylon cords were tied to the frame.

We set the buoy about a kilometer away. Lines were laid on both sides of Pigeon Island. There was a way to ‘snorkel’ in the middle. We worked very hard for this work. 2 separate concrete blocks were placed to ‘anchor’ the boats. In addition, it was proposed to build a floating jetty, but it could not be done yet.

But eventually the boats were kept their limits. Coral reefs were protected and preserved. Pigeon Island was beautiful to see around. Visits of tourists increased and received an income of 30-40 lakhs per day.

I would also like to mention the Department staff who worked with me. Site Assistant JanakaChaturanga, Wildlife Warden ChinthanaDasanayake, Senior Assistant K. Nagalavan, Field Assistants ChaturangaPerera, Jayasekara, AjithAmarasinghe, AsankaKarunaratne, Dharmatunga, Sisira Kumara and Development Officer WasanthaDharmasena who supported office work should also be mentioned.

This work was completed on 24.10.2019. The self-satisfaction I got after the successful work was immeasurable. That self-satisfaction was an unforgettable memory of my life.