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TRINCOMALEE BAY SPECIAL MANAGEMENT AREA Page | 20
IV.
ENVIRONMENTAL PROFILE OF TRINCOMALEE BAY
A. Introduction
85. Developing an environmental profile of an area to be considered for SAM planning is
an essential part of the SAM planning process. The profile should support the consultation
process and be strengthened by the consultation process. The profile should become more
comprehensive and focused as the SAM planning proceeds
86. Trincomalee bay is a large bay ecosystem rather than a single water body and consist
of large core water body of Koddiyar bay (Cod bay) that is contiguous with smaller bays,
Inner harbour bay with China bay, Thampalagamam bay, Shell bay and Dutch bay as
illustrated in Figure IV.1. The depth of the bay varies from shallow water to very deep water
within the bay system.
Figure IV.1: Aerial view of Trincomalee bay (source: Google earth, 2009)
Inner harbour
bay
Thampalagamam bay
Koddiyar bay
87. A 1-2 km stretch from the shore seawards at the southern and eastern sections of the
bay is generally shallow with 10-12 m depth. The sea bed then deepens sharply to depths of
400-800 m in the core area of the bay. The bay mouth towards the northern harbour area is
about 55-68 m deep. Due to the depth, these areas are not suitable for the growth of coastal
vegetation such as mangrove and associates. However, the western section of
Thampalagamam bay is generally shallow (1-2 m in depth) and provides suitable habitat