After translocating corals from Haji Ali to Colaba’s Navy Nagar, around 329 of them belonging to the Pseudosiderastrea tayamai species have reportedly survived. This was ascertained after a site visit to Navy Nagar by officials from the Mangrove Foundation and the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO). This was part of a scheduled monthly inspection of the shifted corals in the region.
These corals were initially identified on 194 rock boulders at Haji Ali and were transported to the Navy Nagar location in November 2020. These corals have GPS trackers embedded in them along with plastic tags for identification.
Also read - Mumbai: Coral Translocation Begins As Officials Survey Haji Ali Colonies
Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Mangrove Cell), Virendra Tiwari was part of the inspection team. Following the visit on Wednesday, he said, “The location is a highly undisturbed area, supporting the diversity of corals. The corals translocated three months ago have survived.”
These species can be seen during low tide and are categorized as hard corals. The move was under fire from citizen groups and activists alleging that the corals will not survive the translocation. Some of the campaigns against this move were trending on social media with hashtags like #CoralsBachao and #NoCoastalRoad.
Read - Coastal Road: NIO Experts Finish Translocation Of Corals At Haji Ali And Worli
“Considering the ecology of coral species, existence of same species, suitability of habitat and access to the location, the recipient sites at Worli and Navy Nagar have been selected for the translocation of corals,” a report said at the time. This report was prepared by marine biologist, Harshal Karve, and Suresh Varak who is the Range Forest Officer of Central Mumbai.
The inspection of the corals is to be carried out by the Forest Department and NIO officials for a period of 12 months.
Also read - Forest Department Asks BMC To Ensure Survival Of Corals At Haji Ali And Worli After Translocation
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