Mumbai's Waters In Trouble

The odd whale, dolphin or shark swimming near Bombay High may not drop dead as it passes by the garbage dump that is Mumbai's coastline, but

Marine conservation expert Deepak Apte of the Bombay Natural History Society says a hundred-odd species of mollusc have become locally extinct in the last 30-35 years. He has given up eating fish in the city. "Rising temperatures and acidification have caused some invertebrates to move out of our waters. The fish and crabs that remain are unfit for human consumption as the grass they feed on is contaminated by heavy metal and pesticide.''

Veteran marine biologist B F Chhapgar (79), former curator of the Taraporevala Aquarium, is familiar with the coast from Colaba to Marve. "In 1951, I would see a 100 sea anemones near Chowpatty beach but by 1987 I was lucky to spot one,'' he rues.

Anish Andheria, project director of the Wildlife Conservation Trust, sounds warning bells: "Another 50 years and you won't find any fish in the market. A city that constantly discharges pollutants can hardly wish away the ill-effects of its unrelenting assault on the food chain. Industrial waste, which includes heavy metal, paint, lead and detergents, is Mumbai's culprit.'' Given that the ocean is a borderless blue world, marine life in Haji Ali or Colaba is as affected by factories that discharge their pollutants in Andheri or Malad.