With civic body officials recently getting the requisite permissions for translocation of coral colonies across the Haji Ali and Worli shorelines, a marine biologist has now said that these corals are not likely to survive the shifting or translocation.
The BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) sought the shifting of the corals as the ongoing Coastal Road project posed dangers to the corals in the region. However, it took a Bombay High Court order to make the BMC seek the necessary permissions from the wildlife authority.
Read - BMC Gets The Go-Ahead For The Translocation Of Corals At Haji Ali And Worli
Vardhan Patankar, a marine biologist has said that translocation of corals hasn’t borne fruit in India. Patankar has previously worked with other coral translocation projects in India including in Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Lakshadweep as well as the Andamans.
He added that some corals situated on the city’s shoreline may prove to be difficult to translocate as they are vulnerable to the bleaching that occurs from warming ocean waters as well as periodical storm surges.
Also read - Maha Govt Turns 250 Sq Km Of Radhanagri Wildlife Sanctuary Into An Eco-Sensitive Zone
Patankar further said that some of the corals at Haji Ali are of the slow-growing variety which can be harder to migrate to a new location.
Environmentalist and Executive Trustee of Conservation Action Trust, Debi Goenka said that though the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) is tasked with the translocation of the corals at Haji Ali and Worli, they do not possess the expertise required for coral translocation. He added that the NIO is likely to offer a subcontract to another firm to conduct the transfer of corals.
Read - BMC Awaiting Wildlife Clearances To Translocate Coral Reefs For Coastal Road Project
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