A Shorewalk at the coast of Haji Ali Dargah, Mumbai

On a Friday morning we reach the gates of Haji Ali Dargah, a mosque located on an islet off the neighbourhood of Worli. The mosque is connected with the coast by a causeway. The path is accessible only during low tide. The rocky coast around the mosque is home to marine flora and fauna. The coast shines in all its glory during low tides when the water recedes. It is low tide now and we are here to discover the treasures hidden inside the niches and crevices of the boulders.

Tides and Intertidal zones

The experts from Marine Life of Mumbai have arranged this guided shorewalk free of cost. Before starting the walk they explain to us the basics of tides—high, low, spring and neap. Spring tides are highest high tide and lowest low tide and it happens twice a lunar month when the Sun, moon and Earth are in a straight line(full moon and new moon). Neap tides are lowest high tides and highest low tides and it also happens twice a lunar month when the Sun, Earth and moon are at right angles.

Intertidal zones are parts of the marine coast that is submerged during high tide and gets exposed during low tide.

Intertidal areas are classified into vertical and horizontal zonation. Haji Ali coast has vertical zonation namely splash, high, middle, low and subtidal. The subtidal zone is revealed only during lowest low tides. Every zone has an ecosystem of its own. The variety of animals existing on the coast changes as we go from the splash to the subtidal zone.

The walk commences

It is just 8’ o clock on a February day and the Sun is young in the sky. The backdrop of such a pleasant morning is ruined by the harsh construction noise—the controversial Mumbai Coastal Road project is ongoing with full gusto. From Worli, 30-40 stories tall high-rises peek at the coast.

“Be very careful while walking on the rocks, they are slippery,” says the expert. They instruct us to not touch anything or try to hold onto rocks if we fall. The coast is full of organisms that might be venomous and stingy. Balancing on the rock, one step at a time, the team moves toward the sea.

Fauna at the shore of Haji Ali Dargah

Sighting starts with oysters! They inform us that the white patches on the boulders are oysters permanently stuck there. We learn how the oysters breed and complete the full life cycle in one single spot. It turns out that they spawn during waning moons, a time when the tides least affect the water level at the coast. So, the larvae gets attached at the same spot.

Pointing to small circular stingy creatures, our guide asks, “Can you guess what are these?”

“Sea urchins,” I say.

I am wrong. These are sea anemones. I have seen them previously on a shorewalk at Juhu but those anemones were much larger. For some reason I assumed that is their standard size. Clearly the anemones at Haji Ali are very small in size but large in population. Sea anemones are relatives of jelly fish. Their poisonous stingers cause skin rashes and other complications in humans.

Now on a rock, our guides ask us to find a creature hidden in a puddle. We struggle and come up with nothing. Then she points out the obvious, a sea slug lounging on the rock! It is so well camouflaged that laymen would never be able to distinguish them from the rock. This breed of slug can breathe outside water. It has sensed humans and gone to hibernation mode. “Once we go away its eyes would emerge out again and it would start moving,” says our guide.

A maroon crab scuttles under a rock. They are called stone crabs. Clams lay on the puddles surrounded by rocks. Our guide teaches us how to know if a clam is living or dead. “If the flaps of the clam are tightly shut then it is very much alive.” A while later she shows us some free-moving oysters. So not all oysters are permanently attached to rocks.

We observe a couple of people scouring the rocks with tools. We learn that they are locals who are foraging oysters for personal consumption or to be sold in the market. Oysters filter water, just like clams and mussels. Given the polluted waters in Mumbai coast, we have been previously warned at the Juhu shorewalk against the consumption of clams, mussels, and oysters in Mumbai.

We have now walked quite a distance away from the mosque and towards the sea. Our group is standing on a large rock, quite like a tiny plateau in the sea. We learn that it is called a platform rock. Here, the fauna dwells in the tidepools. “Just choose any tidepool, crouch down and try to find animals,” announces our guide.

Inside many such tidepools we notice mysterious bubbling. These are barnacles feeding on the algae present in the waters of the tidepools. Blennies(a type of fish) swim in some of the pools. We learn blennies are relatives of mudskipper fish, a type of amphibious fish whose eyes protrude out of their bodies and their body structure looks like a lizard but they have fins.

Our guide shares some fun facts about blennies. These territorial herbivorous fish live in coral reef areas. During high tide their fins fuse together to form a disc. They create a vacuum and stick to the rock, thus remaining in their original “home” even during high tide. They have a memory of 20 days which is enough for them to memorise the map of the intertidal zone where they live. When a predator comes to their tidepool they will jump to another tidepool nearby and will eventually come back to the original one.

We come across Eliza sea slugs, ones that eat algae and can use the chlorophyll inside the algae to even photosynthesize! On the boulders are grass or hair like structures. Things that bob in the water of the tidepools. We learn that these are hydroids and they are poisonous. A brush against them can lead to burns and injury!

The more we learn about these, we realise how we have frolicked like fools in the beaches of Goa, Thailand, Andamans and Lakshadweep without any knowledge about the fauna that resides in the beaches. It is a miracle that nothing had happened to us.

We find clapping crabs, swimming crabs and hermit crabs. Hermit crabs are not true crabs. They do not have 10 legs and they have a lobster like body. Hermit crabs use dead snails’ shells as a protection by carrying it over their body with their limbs.

At this point we learn about carcinization. It is a process where crustaceans are actively trying to evolve into crabs. The shape and make of crabs has proved to be very successful since millions of years. Crustaceans have observed that and they try to behave like crabs in a bid to “be like the crabs.” This piece of information blows my mind!

We have now walked for a long time and have reached very near the ocean. The puddles in the intertidal pools are now knee deep. Colourful sponges, bright blue, bold pink, start appearing here. Sponges have tiny holes throughout their bodies to draw in water. The one large hole that is visible to the naked eye is for excretion. These primitive of life-forms with no complex organs continue to exist in the polluted waters of Mumbai.

We spot puffball sponges and even hard corals on a rock. The construction noise of the Coastal Road nearby seems to be laughing at the corals. Corals are listed as endangered in the IUCN list. Ideally, they should receive the same level of protection as the royal bengal tigers. Even after so much paperwork, it was not enough to give protection to the coral colonies at the coast of Haji Ali Dargah. The Coastal Road has destroyed much of the biodiversity here.

As a redress, these coral colonies are said to have been “relocated” to other suitable area. However, the guides point out that it is impossible to relocate all, particularly the ones existing in the subtidal zone.

On this note we realise that the water level has started rising and now it is time to walk back to the shore. As we move, someone shouts. He has found something! It is a brittle star fish. An excited group member huddles over the starfish to click a photo, we clearly see it moving towards his shadow.

The starfish is our last sighting and the walk comes to an end. Waking up in the morning was worth it.

NOTE:

Marine Life of Mumbai conducts shorewalks in Juhu, Haji Ali, Bandstand, Carter Road and Nepean Sea Road. They are planning on extending these walks to shores in Malad, Vasai and Alibaug as well. Keep an eye out on their Instagram page (@marinelifeofmumbai) for updates.

Once a month they conduct a free walk. Luckily, I was able to snag a slot in this free walk of the month. To my dismay I noticed that many had not turned up. So, while our paid Juhu walk was full this free one only had around 8 people.

People are irresponsible when they get anything for free. By blocking a free seat and not attending because of laziness you are snatching someone else, probably more marginalised than you, of the opportunity. Please keep your commitment if you get a free tour.

Details:

• Price– Free (this was the once a month free guided shorewalk)
• Duration– Around 2 hours
• Timing– Depends on low tide times.
• Location– Haji Ali Dargah
• How to book– Marine Life of Mumbai announces these guided shorewalks on their Instagram page(@marinelifeofmumbai) from time to time. Book via the links posted over there.
• Requirement– Aquashoes or monsoon friendly shoes are required. Absolutely no heels, sandals or flipflops as the rocks are very slippery and uneven. Carrying a cap and potable water would be helpful.

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