Pulicat lake as a protected area under the Wildlife Protection Act, 192 in 1976. The Pulicat Sanctuary is also an Important Bird Area with code IN261 satisfying Criteria Al, A4iii. This signifies that the area has a population of a species categorized by the IUCN Red list as Critically Endangered, Endangered or Vulnerable. The Pulicat Bird Sanctuary also qualifies for A4(iii) which means that it is an area which qualifies as a Ramsar Site also.As per a study titled “Macro Fauna of Pulicat Lake”, published by the National Biodiversity Board of India, the hydrology and the benthic substrata in the lake proves the primary parameters for determination of the biodiversity in the lake. The brackish water nature, which is in between salt water and fresh water ensures a medium which is highly productive, much more than both fresh and seawater. This is maintained at its unique ratio of fresh water is to salt water due to the amount of fresh water that flows into the lake as well as the amount of salt water that extrudes from it. The shallow water regime, especially in certain portions of the lake further proves to be the reason for richer biodiversity in those parts than in other deeper areas.Because of such rich benthic substrata in the lake, a much more diverse number of species of flora and fauna are indirectly supported by the lake. This includes different categories of fauna including invertebrates, prawns, lobsters, crabs, zoo planktons, coelenterates, annelids, molluscs and echinoderms. It is submitted that the Pulicat lake also serves as the nursery for several species of fishes. There are also as many as 168 species of fishes, 25 species of polychaete worms, 12 species of prawn, 19 species of mollusc. Mullets and Catfish are the major brackish water fish. Near the West of Sriharikota Island, the area consist of mudflats due to which shallow water is formed. This serves as a natural feeding ground for flamingos, pelicans and other waders and birds which feed on
