Are corals useful to us?

Very much yes, in many-many ways.

They provide shelter to thousands of edible fishes – our good source of protein – which won’t be able to survive without the reef ecosystem.

They protect us from the natural calamities like storms, stabilize the shoreline changes and prevent soil erosion.

Being lovely, exquisite, colourful and wonderful creations of the Mother Nature, they provide us great recreation-spots, attract tourists and help us earn more money too in foreign exchange.

Apart from fishes, many other vertebrates and invertebrates, so also plants depend on coral reef ecosystem for their lives.

Their hard structures are used in jewellery; for example, red colour coral is often used as gemstone.

Coral reef is an important source of lime.

They have tremendous medicinal potential, especially, to prepare drugs to treat cancer, arthritis, human bacterial infection, heart disease, viruses, etc.