Corals & the sea

Sri Lanka’s seas hold coral reefs, seagrass meadows and a deep submarine canyon close to shore. Corals — the ‘stone flowers’ (gal mal) of the reef — are colonies of tiny animals that build limestone skeletons and shelter thousands of fish. Reefs here suffered badly in the 1998 and 2016 bleaching events and the 2004 tsunami; don’t stand on or touch coral, and use reef-safe sunscreen.