Malpe is a natural

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...

in the

Udupi District Udupi district (also Udipi or Odipu in Tulu language) is an administrative subdivision in the Karnataka state of India, with the district headquarters in the city of Udupi. It is situated in the Canara coastal region, there are seven talu ...

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

, India. Located at the mouth of the Malpe River about six kilometers to the west of

Udupi Udupi (alternate spelling Udipi; also known as Odipu) is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. Udupi is situated about north of the educational, commercial and industrial hub of Mangalore and about west of state capital Bangalore by road. ...

, it is an important port and a major fishing harbor on the Karnataka coast. The town of Malpe is associated largely with settlements of the

Mogaveera The Mogaveera, or Mogavira is a subcaste of the Koli caste living in the Karnataka state of India. They dominated maritime activities in coastal Karnataka. History Mogaveera means a warrior who after the demolition of the kingdom continued ...

fisherman community. Malpe is a hub of

Billava The Billava, Billoru, Biruveru people are an ethnic group of India. They are found traditionally in Tulu Nadu region and engaged in toddy tapping, cultivation and other activities. They have used both missionary education and Sri Narayana Guru's ...

and Muslim population. Malpe Sea Walk

History

Malpe is an ancient sea port and harbour, where

Tuluvas The Tulu people or Tuluvas are an ethno-linguistic group from Southern India. They are native speakers of the Tulu language and the region they traditionally inhabit is known as Tulu Nadu. This region comprises the districts of Dakshina Kannada ...

and the western world traded. Malpe has been mentioned as early as second century C.E. by the Greek geographer Ptolemy. The location is also mentioned in an ancient Greek farce found written on papyri from the second century or earlier, published in modern times in ''The Oxyrhynchus Papyri Part III.''

Industry

The major industry in Malpe is fisheries. Malpe is also known as the largest fishing harbour in the

. A considerable number of the area is employed directly and indirectly by the fishing industries.

Malpe Beach and coastal marine life

Malpe Beach is known as a destination for holidays and picnics. The Beach has a Sea Walkway with a view of St. Mary's Island and Bhadargad Island, as well as the rest of the beach. It also contains a statue of a fishing family, including a fisherman, fisherwoman, and child, created by the artist Purshotham Adve. Visitors can head to Udupi to visit Sri Krishna Temple (5 km) or Kapu beach and lighthouse (20 km from Malpe) to spend the rest of the day. Mangaluru city (60 km) offers more beaches, temples and attractions for an extended weekend trip. The Beach also has 24/7 wifi connection, available for free for 30 minutes. There are other tourist attractions close to Malpe Beach, such as Ulall Beach, St. Mary's Island, Daria-Bahadurgad Fort, and Balarama and Ananteshwara Temples. The Major Institutions in India involved in the management, monitoring and research on Coral reefs are the

Ministry of Earth Sciences The Ministry of Earth Sciences was formed on 29 January 2006 from a merger of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF), the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune ...

, the Zoological Survey of India,

Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute The Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute was established in the government of India on 3 February 1947 under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and later, in 1967, it joined the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR ...

Madurai Kamaraj University Madurai Kamaraj University (MKU) is a public state university located in Madurai city, in southern Tamil Nadu, India, established in 1966. MKU is one of the 15 universities in India with the University with Potential for Excellence status, wh ...

, Annamalai University, National Centre for Earth Science Studies,

National Institute of Ocean Technology The National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) was established in November 1993 as an autonomous society under the Ministry of Earth Sciences in India. NIOT is managed by a Governing Council and is headed by a director. The institute is bas ...

, National Institute of Oceanography, India etc. Gaveshani Bank, a calcareous sand bank and a

platform Platform may refer to: Technology * Computing platform, a framework on which applications may be run * Platform game, a genre of video games * Car platform, a set of components shared by several vehicle models * Weapons platform, a system or ...

type living corals reef of 38 m to 60 m depth, is 100 km offshore at latitude 13° 24'N and longitude 73° 45'E and Malpe is nearest port. Reef originated in

pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was finally confirmed in ...

when sea level was low, and during coral reef continued to rise with the rise in sea level during

holocene The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene togeth ...

which resulted in creation of this

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...

.R.R. Nair and S.Z. Qasim, March 1978, Occurrence of a Bank with Living Corals Off the South-West Coast of India, Indian Journal of Geo-Marine Sciences (IJMS), Vol.07, pp. 55-58.

Malpe Sea Walk

On 27 January 2018, A sea walk way was commissioned and inaugurated by Minister for Fisheries, Youth Empowerment and Sports, Pramod Madhwaraj. Located next to the Tourist Jetty in Malpe, where the tourists board boats to visit St. Mary's Island, The sea walkway point gives a view of the entire stretch of Malpe Beach, St. Mary's Island and the Bhadargad Island. The statue of a fisherman's family by artist Purshotham Adve welcomes tourists as they approach the Sea Walk area. This project took three months to complete and costed ₹ 53.5 lakh. In October 2020, The Malpe Development Committee, allocated an additional budget of ₹ 2 crore for facelift of Malpe Sea Walk and addition of artefacts at the beach. A 15-feet cement statue of Jatayu is one among the few additions under this project

References

{{Reflist Udupi Beaches of Karnataka Cities and towns in Udupi district Geography of Udupi district Ports and harbours of Karnataka Transport in Udupi district