{"id":51554,"date":"2019-08-24T19:00:33","date_gmt":"2019-08-24T13:30:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogadmin.forumias.com\/?p=51554"},"modified":"2019-08-24T16:49:51","modified_gmt":"2019-08-24T11:19:51","slug":"7-pm-cleaning-mumbais-coastal-water-naturally-24th-august-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/7-pm-cleaning-mumbais-coastal-water-naturally-24th-august-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"7 PM | Cleaning Mumbai\u2019s coastal water, naturally | 24th August, 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Context:<\/strong> artificial\nreefs and their significance in coastal areas<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Submerged shipwrecks are the most common\nform of artificial reef. Oil and gas platforms, bridges, lighthouses, and other\noffshore structures often function as artificial reefs. <\/li><li>Marine resource managers also create\nartificial reefs in underwater areas that require a structure to enhance the\nhabitat for reef organisms, including soft and&nbsp;stony corals&nbsp;and\nthe&nbsp;fishes and invertebrates that live among them.<\/li><li>Materials used to construct artificial\nreefs have included rocks, cinder blocks, and even wood and old tires.\nNowadays, several companies specialize in the design, manufacture, and\ndeployment of long-lasting artificial reefs that are typically constructed of\nlimestone, steel, and concrete.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Need\nfor artificial reefs in coastal areas:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Industrialization:<\/strong> Rapid\nindustrialization has taken place along the coastline of India. Among the\ncoastlines, industrial pollution is recorded high on coast of West Bengal,\nTamil Nadu, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.<\/li><li><strong>Municipal\nsolid waste:<\/strong> Municipal waste consists of degradable and non-degradable\nwaste which comprises of plastic, rubber, glass, heavy metals and so on. The\ndiscarded plastic waste leads to entanglement, suffocation and ingestion of\naquatic life.<\/li><li>Consumption of plastic by the marine\nanimals causes disruption of the endocrine system and reduction in reproduction\nrate. Heavy metals such as mercury, lead, nickel, arsenic, and cadmium, could\nalso accumulate in the tissues of many species in a bio accumulation process.<\/li><li><strong>Complexity:<\/strong>\nThe human impacts on climate, habitats, species and the air\nand water quality are complex inter-connected problems. This means there are\nnever any simple solutions or silver bullets.<\/li><li>Being a coastal state, Maharashtra is\nbestowed with a coast line of about 720 kms. Thane, Mumbai, Raigad, Ratnagiri\nand Sindhudurg districts are all located along the coastal front in Maharashtra.\n<\/li><li>The coastal and creeks water quality is\ndeteriorating due to disposal of partially treated sewage, open drains water as\nwell as industrial wastewater which is today&#8217;s major environmental concern.<\/li><li><strong>Water\nquality:<\/strong> The Mumbai and Thane\nsaline coastal waters have remained steady in the water quality for over a\ndecade, but unfortunately have hovered within the \u2018polluted\u2019 grade of the Water\nQuality Index.<\/li><li>It is estimated that nearly 250 million\npeople live within area of 50 km from the coastline of India. This coastline\nsupports a huge human population, which is dependent on the rich coastal and\nmarine resources for economic growth. So with increasing population increases\npollution in general and particularly marine pollution.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Types of Artificial reefs:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Wrecks\nand large steel structures:<\/strong> Coral reef organisms grow well on steel\nstructures, despite the concerns of some that iron and other limiting nutrients\nwill favor algal or bacterial growth. India <\/li><li>In addition to wrecks, but along the\nsame lines, are the use of decommissioned oil platforms as artificial reefs,\nproviding that proper environmental preparations are completed first, these\nstructures can provide amazing \u2018islands of biodiversity\u2019 in otherwise barren\nseascapes.<\/li><li><strong>Concrete\nstructures:<\/strong> Concrete is the&nbsp;favorite material to use for\nmost reef managers&nbsp;for many reasons. It is a material that is very close\nin composition to natural coral limestone, and also it is strong, heavy, cheap,\nand readily available all over the world. Concrete can be made into&nbsp;nearly\nany shape or size, and lasts a long time under the ocean<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Significance\nof artificial reefs:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Bivalves:<\/strong> Bivalve reefs tend to be biodiversity hotspots, which\nadds value to local artisanal fisheries and also makes for attractive sites for\nsnorkeling, diving, and eco-tourism with underwater marine observatories. <\/li><li>One can even imagine\nthe line of eateries serving delicious mussel dishes along the coast, providing\nalternative livelihoods for fishermen.<\/li><li><strong>Marine biodiversity:<\/strong> Marine\nbiodiversity can be greatly enhanced by combining the bivalve restoration with\nseaweed and sea grass, which can absorb nutrients and reduce eutrophication,\nrevive oxygen levels and a multitude of habitats while also serving as a\nnatural defense against cyclones and storm surges. <\/li><li>Coastal erosion will also be reduced by\nthe combination of reefs, seaweed and sea grass. As most solid structures in\nocean waters tend to do, reefs can also be designed to be fish aggregating\ndevices.<\/li><li><strong>Intestines\nof coastal system:<\/strong> Bivalves\nare known as nutrient capacitors and the \u2018intestines\u2019 of coastal ecosystems\nbecause of their ability to ingest and release nutrients.<\/li><li>Their lifespan can\nrange from 2-100 years, which, along with their ability to withstand\ndisturbances from terrestrial runoff, cyclones and waves, can make them a\nworthy investment as natural coastal water cleansers.<\/li><li><strong>Fish stock enhancement:<\/strong> Improving\npopulations of aquatic organisms by providing shelter for juvenile and mature\nindividuals as well as for adults during delicate life stages (e.g. moulting\nseason for crustaceans).<\/li><li><strong>Other\npurposes:<\/strong>\nPurposes for&nbsp;artificial reefs include increasing the efficiency of\nartisanal, commercial, and recreational&nbsp;fisheries, producing\nnew&nbsp;biomass&nbsp;in fisheries and aquaculture, boosting underwater\nrecreation and&nbsp;ecotourism opportunities, preserving and\nrenewing&nbsp;coastal habitats&nbsp;and biodiversity, and advancing research.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Way forward: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Considering the growing\npopulation closer to the coasts and some of the inevitable development\nactivities such as the coastal highway, environmental-friendly economic\ndevelopment must consider as many natural solutions as possible.<\/li><li>Artificial reefs and\nbivalves with seaweed and sea grass offer a well-tested natural solution with\nmany benefits. Mumbai is an ideal test-bed for a pilot experiment in this\nnatural solution. Replicating it along the extensive coastline of India can\nfollow with the lessons learned in Mumbai coasts.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Source:\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindubusinessline.com\/opinion\/columns\/a-natural-solution-to-help-tackle-mumbais-coastal-water-pollution\/article29224390.ece\">https:\/\/www.thehindubusinessline.com\/opinion\/columns\/a-natural-solution-to-help-tackle-mumbais-coastal-water-pollution\/article29224390.ece<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Context: artificial reefs and their significance in coastal areas Submerged shipwrecks are the most common form of artificial reef. Oil and gas platforms, bridges, lighthouses, and other offshore structures often function as artificial reefs. Marine resource managers also create artificial reefs in underwater areas that require a structure to enhance the habitat for reef organisms,&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/7-pm-cleaning-mumbais-coastal-water-naturally-24th-august-2019\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">7 PM | Cleaning Mumbai\u2019s coastal water, naturally | 24th August, 2019<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":49370,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[130,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-51554","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-7-pm","category-public","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/7-PM.png?fit=1000%2C500&ssl=1","views":{"total":0,"cached_at":"","cached_date":1704863961},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51554","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/61"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51554"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51554\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49370"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51554"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51554"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51554"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}