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Corals, Sea Anemones and Starfish in Mumbai? This Trio Will Tell You Where to Find Them!

Right below the busy city's dazzling skyline is an underwater wonderland beyond belief!

Corals, Sea Anemones and Starfish in Mumbai? This Trio Will Tell You Where to Find Them!

Mumbai’s coastlines have forever drawn people to its shores. But did you know that these very coastlines were home to a multitude of marine creatures?

Like sea anemones, corals, hermit crabs, molluscs and many, many others.

A trio of marine enthusiasts from Mumbai have started an initiative that aims to draw the attention of people in the city towards the rich coastal biodiversity.

Siddharth, Pradip and Abhishek.

Siddharth Chakravarty, an academic researcher in the fishing industry, along with Abhishek Jamalabad and Pradip Patade, a marine biologist and a kayaking instructor, respectively, met through common acquaintances. The trio shared a common zeal towards marine biodiversity and started Marine Life of Mumbai, MLOM.

“It was towards the beginning of this year that we decided to open up a forum on Facebook that would allow fellow enthusiasts to share photographs of the varied creatures but more like a public repository. Here, it’s not just about sharing photographs or the information pertaining to it. We want more people to come forward to raise awareness towards the cause,” Siddharth says.

The group also conducts walks along the shoreline; the result of which are photographs of the vibrantly hued marine creatures.

Sponge garden at Marine Drive. Courtesy: MLOM.

“So far we have conducted two photo walks. Currently, the monsoons have put a stall on our further plans. But that will be for a brief while and we hope that more people will join us post September,” he adds.

Here are some photographs of an underwater wonderland beyond belief right here in Mumbai!

Red Egg Crab (Atergatis integerrimus). Courtesy: Yuwaraj Gurjar
Zoanthids are a subgroup of corals, and they get their green colour from algae living in association with them. These are found on the distant margins of the rock patches off Marine Drive. Courtesy: MLOM
A sea slug, a nudibranch and a marine gastropod mollusk (Bornella stellifer). Courtesy: Pradip Patade
A blue button (Portpita porpita). Courtesy: Abhishek Jamalabad
A ghost crab (Ocypode ceratophthalma). Courtesy: Pradip Patade
Encrusting Tube Worms (Serpulidae). Courtesy: Abhishek Jamalabad
A hook-nosed sea snake (Enhydrina schistosa). Courtesy: Gaurav Patil
A sea anemone. Courtesy: Nikhil Tukaram Sathe
A close up of a hermit crab. Courtesy: Saurabh Sawant
Molluscs (Siliqua Radiata). Courtesy: Rubin Sagar.
A mantis shrimp(Squilla). Courtesy: Hetal Doshi.

You can look up MLOM’s Facebook page here.

To get in touch with the team behind MLOM, click here.

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