The Tamil Nadu government has commenced work for the country's first dugong conservation reserve in the Palk Bay region.

Dugongs are endangered species that are protected under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. The Wildlife Institute of India (WII), in a study, reported that only 200-250 dugongs are left in the wild of which 150 are found in the Palk Bay and Gulf of Mannar off Tamil Nadu.