Some people might have Aquaphobia or Thalassophobia, but that doesn’t stop us from exploring oceans and their living life. As generations passed, people made water such a fun-loving environment. The oceans, seas, rivers, and lakes have a variety of flora and fauna. From clown fish to Killer whales, the water ecosystem has evolved.
Many varieties of flora and fauna have been discovered, but there is a lot more to discover. The ocean’s depth and substantial marine life might make it look scary, but that doesn’t stop our curiosity about natural beauty and marine life.
Business enthusiasts and the government have developed a strategy for marine and national parks where people worldwide can learn the geography and history of marine life.
1. Marine National Parks
Looking after the marine environment is essential, and that’s why the government manages these waters. Some marine parks are zoned to show where some activities are permitted.
They are divided into zones like:
1.1. Green Zone
This zone protects the most critical habitats, such as feeding and breeding areas. Here, you can watch wildlife, snorkel, dive, and do research, but you cannot fish at sea level.
1.2. Yellow Zone
This zone will provide high-level protection for seafloor habitats like reefs and seamounts. Visitors can watch wildlife, dive, research, and fish here without disturbing the seafloor.
1.3. Blue Zone
This zone will allow you to do certain activities. The blue zone and yellow will provide us with seafood caught by the local fishers.
The marine park offers conservation features like reefs, support fishing, and an incredible visitor experience. To keep marine parks healthy, we must improve our understanding of them, work with park users, traditional owners, and local communities, and ensure we all follow the rules.
By managing all these parks, we can enjoy these fantastic national parks until well into the future.
2. Must Visit Marine National Parks
2.1. Marino Ballena National Park
Marino Ballena National Park, built in 1992, is on Costa Rica’s South Pacific Coast. It has one of the most extensive coral reefs on the Pacific Coast of Central America. The term ” Ballena” means whales in Spanish, so the name suggests you can witness humpback whales migrating to the coast yearly.
The marine park is not only for whale sightings; the sand beach shores also serve as a beautiful swim area. Uvita and Ballena are among the most extensive beaches on the coast. You will find a variety of wildlife, including sloths.
They provide boat tours to see some marine creatures like dolphins, blue whales, and turtles, allowing you to dive into the blue. But you are not allowed to swim in the river because of the crocodiles.
Don’t worry about your stay. The Coast provides many affordable hotels to localities and tourists.
2.1.1. A Few Things to Know
- You can walk a 900m beach into the ocean during the low tide.
- There are several hiking trails within the forest service.
- During the high tide, most of the beach and the whale tail submerge under the water.
- If you don’t want to pay for the park, you can also walk to the other beaches around.
2.1.2. Things To Do
- Do not forget to visit Whale Tail Beach, a must-see because it is one of the most beautiful spots to watch the sunset.
- Go to Uvita waterfall, green in fall colors, surrounded by greenery, and feels like a closed space.
- Playa Ventanas is a beautiful beach to start at. At low tide, you can walk inside. You need to drive across a little river to get there, so it’s a little bit of an adventure.
2.1.3. How to Get There?
Drive down the Pacific coast, go towards Uvita, pass the town center, and keep going until you see the sign Playa Uvita take the right and drive down and you will find the entrance to the national park.
2.2. Mahatma Gandhi Marine National Park
Mahatma Gandhi Marine National Park is in Wandoor, Andaman and Nicobar Island. The park was established in 1983 to protect its flora and nesting sea turtles. It is 29km from Port Blair. The park covers almost 17 islands and is surrounded by flora and fauna. It has two islands: the Labyrinth Islands and The Twin Islands.
The main attraction of this park is to see the turtles hatching, as turtles are an endangered species in India. People are piled up on each side of the sand beach year-round to witness this. The drawback of this park is that only a limited number of people are allowed. Summer months are the best time.
Well, Andaman is not only famous for its jail culture. It has one of the best blue beaches with the most dramatic photographic view.
They also offer amazing boat rides, scuba diving, and sea walks. Many of you might be wondering what this ” sea walk ” means. You wear diving gear and are hooked to the rail attached to the boat. You need not worry, as you will be under professional supervision.
Later, they will let you go underwater and walk among the corals and varieties of fish. Andaman, too, has a wonderful natural beauty full of huge corals.
2.2.1. A Few Things to Know
- They advise carrying a water bottle and a packed lunch before heading out.
- Visitors can spend two hours at the Red Skin Island with private packages.
2.2.2. Things To Do
- You can do Snorkeling, which costs.
- Scuba diving.
- Bird watching: You can find exotic migratory birds on Jolly Buoy Island.
2.2.3. How to Get There?
You can take a private taxi or bus to the national park from Port Blair. You can also hire a tour guide to brief you about the national park.
2.3. Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
Great Marine Reef is situated in Australia. It has been known as the leading marine park since 1975. The National Park Service has set rules to protect its ecology and diversity.
The reef is the largest living structure with thousands of species, making it difficult to know about its ecosystem, which is required to keep it alive, like coral reefs, sea grasses, and fresh water. The species found here are endangered under the World Conservation Union.
They provide various activities, such as Snorkeling, underwater observatory ranger-guided tours, a fish-feeding presentation, picnic tables, and an enclosed ocean pool. You can add extra activities like scuba diving, sea walking, and helicopter rides over the reef. It is a great destination to pack your things.
2.3.1. A Few Things to Know
- Pick a perfect port to get there.
- Don’t be afraid of the corals. Once you get to know and see them, you will forget your fear.
- Save some time for Snorkeling to see the fish past you.
- Do not set on the reef for safety concerns.
2.3.2. Things To Do
- There are more Snorkeling and cruise packages available that are under affordable packages.
- They offer boat cruises and wildlife sightings.
2.3.3. How to Get There?
You can always take a road trip in a private taxi or rent a vehicle. Some flights start from Townsville, Airlie Beach, and Cairns.
2.4. Acadia National Park
Just off the Coast of Southeastern Maine is a living masterpiece of Acadia National Park that graces Mount Desert Island and several other islands. Acadia National Park is a scenic trail with excellent colors and landscape textures. The seaside community holds shops, cultural heritage, and bars and is considered the launching point for tours and adventures to Acadia National Park.
If you head to the dock, you will be able to taste their wonderful seafood, such as lobster. Later, you can head towards the Abbey Museum to learn about the first people who lived there. The village green is the lush heart of this coast.
Acadia has the best hiking interpretive trail. Are you a morning person? Then, head to Boulder Beach to watch the mesmerizing sunrise and the glow of the many rocky beaches and shores. You can walk towards the top of the Cadillac Mountain trail to get spectacular views of the Otter Cliffs and glaze at one of the most beautiful viewpoints in mid-October.
Acadia is one of Maine’s best pet-friendly national parks and hiking trails. The Wisconsin ice sheet carved the Jordan Pond to admire nature’s kaleidoscope still in the water and gaze at the bubbles rising from the rocky shores. This state park has lured adventurers and people who have loved nature for generations, and past visitors have become custodians adoring this place.
2.4.1. A Few Things to Know
- Watch your step while walking near Cadillac Mountain.
- Do carry insect repellents. Please be aware of ticks.
- Learn to identify poison ivy as they are found over there.
The National Park Service offers free entry under visitor service on the following dates:
- January 15- Martin Luther King Day
- April 20- First day of National Park
- June 19- Juneteenth
- August 4- The great American outdoors act
- September 28- National Public Lands Day
- November 11- Veterans Day
2.4.2. Things to Do
- You will find 120 miles of hiking trails in the state’s forests and wildlife viewing with almost 300 species.
- You can always go fishing for a tasty salmon or brook trout.
2.4.3. How to Get There?
There are many flights that will take you to the marine park, but if you choose a private cab or your car, it will take you almost 5 to 6 hours to reach it.
2.5. Palau National Marine Park
Palau’s waters have been considered one of the seven underwater wonders of the world. They hold more than 1,000 species of fish and more than 700 corals. Palau National Marine Park protects almost 80 percent of the nation’s marine territory. Separate zones are reserved for local fishing and small units for limited commercial export, which is good for the economy. Palau brought in the first shark sanctuary.
The Sanctuary has nine species that are at conservation risk in the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red Li, like endangered hawksbill turtles, leatherback turtles, sei whales, blue whales, green turtles, whale sharks, shortfin mako sharks, longfin mako sharks, great hammerhead sharks.
The park’s entry fee has been distributed for marine conservation under the law.
Palau offers boat rides so you can explore the waters and do some small-scale fishing. The Sanctuary has an immense biodiversity and is twice as big as the nearby protected area. The survival of marine depends on how freshwater clean the ocean is.
Climate change threatened the rise of sea levels. The localities call this place the ‘ Nest of Life. ‘ You can easily be lost in the mesmerizing coral and fresh water. The good thing about this place is that sharks are natural and part of the ecosystem, and sometimes you might not notice them as there will be too much going on around them.
Sharks have become Palau’s key attraction. The Micronesian Shark Foundation considers that one shark is equal to 180 thousand US dollars in one year and close to two million dollars over its lifetime. That’s just one shark; just think of the many sharks found there. They have breathtaking views, too.
2.5.1. A Few Things to Know
- Don’t pollute or harm the environment.
- Yowerebe cautious towards the waters as there are bull sharks.
- Follow the rules given by the instructor during the scuba diving session.
2.5.2. Things to Do
- Remember to see sharks during the boat tour, but be careful.
- Snorkel and scuba diving will provide a better way to see corals and marine life under protection.
2.5.3. How to Get There?
There are flights from Campiglia Marittima Airport to Olbia Costa Smeralda Airport. You can catch a bus or a ferry to Palau.
2.6. Twelve Apostles Marine Park
The Twelve Apostles Park is located on the Southwest Coast of Victoria near Port Campbell. It is the second largest park in Victoria and covers almost seven thousand hectares of area.
The thing that makes this park so special is that it incorporates above-the-water islands and rocks along the coast. People come along the miles of hiking trails, horseback riding, and mountain biking trails here to experience the beauty of Twelve Apostles rock stacks at its highest peak.
There have been a bit of rock and cliff fall but that doesn’t stop us from being adventurous. Some of the cliffs have been eroded due to wind and waves over time.
When you dive into the ocean, the cliffs are covered in invertebrates, a heap of different seaweeds, and bryozoans. There are a lot of colorful sponges. The diversity of marine plants and animals is so amazing, that you can just sit there and watch the fishes swim past you. To be able to scuba dive at night skies, this park is truly a wonderful experience.
The Lord Ard Gorge is a historic site with the tale of a shipwreck’s survival. In 1873, there was an iron clipper in Lord Ard Gorge making its way to Melbourne. The coast was shipwrecked. The entrance is quite narrow along the east coast of the ocean path, so the fact that two people survived that wreck.
The reefs are full of life. The waters out here are turbulent and rough and can make access above and below quite hard. So, the rangers out there have made it necessary to map the Waters National Monument Park using a range of technologies.
2.6.1. A Few Things to Know
- Do check the tides and the condition of the ocean before stepping in.
- The Great Ocean Road can be chilly during strong winds.
2.6.2. Things to Do
- You can explore mountains with the best hiking trails.
- There is a beautiful scenic view from the coastal road.
2.6.3. How to Get There?
Some organized tours and car trips are about 3 hours from Melbourne.
3. Conclusion
You might have seen wildlife in national parks and monuments, but what about marine parks? There are over 5,000 Marine parks, all with a complete list of fishes and plants, from large to small state parks.
In conclusion, marine parks need to be supported as they contain endangered species, from small to large-scale fish to flora. Marine life is very delicate and has a huge biodiversity. Some species that are unknown to mankind are seen in these parks. These parks also give opportunities to study marine life.
Last Updated on March 5, 2024 by Khushahal Malakar
