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The Oman Environment Authority launched containment operations after an oil spill covering about 390 sq km off southern Oman.
The spill came from the explosion-damaged tanker Caroline Bezengi, which grounded near the protected Hallaniyat Islands.
The Hallaniyat Islands, formerly the Kuria Muria Islands, are an archipelago of five islands in the Arabian Sea.
They were designated a protected nature reserve by Royal Decree in 2025 and host globally important Loggerhead turtle nesting grounds.
Rough Khareef season seas with four-metre waves have hampered cleanup operations.
Humpback whales almost everywhere undertake long seasonal migrations between polar feeding grounds and tropical breeding grounds. The Arabian Sea population is the notable exception — it does not migrate, remaining in these waters year-round, and is genetically isolated from other humpback populations. That isolation makes it exceptionally vulnerable: unlike a migratory population, it cannot move away from a localised threat such as an oil spill, and it cannot be replenished by whales from elsewhere.
Simple Analogy: A population with nowhere else to go — damage to this one patch of sea is damage to the whole group.
GS Paper III > Environment > Marine Pollution and Conservation
General Awareness > Environment and World Geography
Why is there a great concern about the 'microbeads' that are released into environment?
Answer: They are considered harmful to marine ecosystems.
"Biorock technology" is talked about in which one of the following situations?
Answer: Restoration of damaged coral reefs
Which one of the following pairs of islands is separated from each other by the 'Ten Degree Channel'?
Answer: Andaman and Nicobar
Which of the following is geographically closest to Great Nicobar?
Answer: Sumatra
The south-west monsoon season affecting Oman's Dhofar coast, bringing rough seas and mist.
A barrier deployed on water to contain and concentrate an oil slick for recovery.
A species found naturally in only one geographic area.