Mumbai, June 5: The Maharashtra forest department's Mangrove Foundation on Saturday said that it will conduct the first-ever dolphin population estimation across the coastal waters of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). According to sources, the state government has decided to conduct a detailed study across the 150-kilometre MMR coast.

According to a report in the Hindustan Times, the decision to conduct a dolphin population survey comes after a pilot study by the Coastal Conservation Foundation (CCF) resulted in about 27 sightings of Indian Ocean humpback dolphins. The dolphins were sighted in South Mumbai’s Backbay area. ITBP Mountaineers Chant 'Badri Vishal Ki Jai' After Scaling Mount Abi Gamin Peak (Watch Video).

As per law, dolphins are an endangered cetacean species and they are protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. During the CCF’s pilot study in South Mumbai, the largest group of dolphins comprised six individuals. Interestingly, the study was conducted between April 14 and May 11 from the Haji Ali Bay to Raj Bhavan in South Mumbai. The study also stated that out of the 27 sightings, 15 sightings were of groups that included juveniles and sub-adults dolphins.

Shaunak Modi, founder, CCF said, "While dolphins in this area have been documented and photographed before, this study gave us an opportunity to understand how they react to both environmental and human-induced factors in the area. Through this pilot study, it’s too early to know how many dolphins there are, and how this area is being used by juveniles, sub-adults, and adults regularly."

During the study, Modi's team gathered environmental data such as the depth, temperature, salinity, turbidity, and tidal flow besides anthropogenic data that included the presence of fishing activity, every time a pod or individual dolphin was sighted. The team also photographed fins in order to use them to build a fin catalog which could form the basis for future long-term population studies. Layer’r Shot’s New Body Spray Ad Slammed for Promoting Rape Culture, Govt Orders Suspension of Controversial Advertisements.

Virendra Tiwari, additional principal chief conservator of forests (mangrove cell) said, "There have been stray sightings of dolphins reported along the Mumbai coast all the way from Manori, Versova creek areas to Nariman Point, Marine Drive, and going towards Alibaug for quite some time now. However, no such dedicated population estimation or analysis of their habitat usage has been carried out prior to this. The study will begin post-monsoon across MMR. These dolphins are also biological indicators and their behaviour and the environmental conditions they are surviving in will also reveal more details on climate impacts that they are exposed to and the interventions we can build."

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 05, 2022 12:36 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).