Marine Life of Mumbai

Meet Pradip Patade, a water-sports instructor turned citizen scientist, quietly changing how a city sees its own coastline.

By Amar Salvi, Editor — The Weekend Aquarist

Estimated read time: 9–10 minutes

For nearly a decade, Pradip Patade's life has been shaped by the rhythm of the tides at Girgaum Chowpatty. While most of Mumbai experiences the shoreline as a place of crowds, festivals, and fleeting escapes, Pradip sees something far more intimate — an ever-changing intertidal world that reveals itself only to those willing to slow down and look closely.

A trained water-sports instructor with Rae Sports Academy, Pradip's days often begin before the city fully wakes. Kayaking, windsurfing, and shore exploration are not leisure activities for him — they're tools of observation. Low tide is his classroom. Each exposed rock, tide pool, and sand patch becomes an opportunity to document marine life that has quietly coexisted with the city for centuries: sea sponges, octopuses, gorgonian sea fans, nudibranchs, anemones, sea stars, and countless lesser-known organisms that rarely make it into conversations about urban biodiversity.

His turning point came in 2013, while serving as part of the official lifeguard and rescue team during Ganesh Visarjan. Responding to jellyfish stings and stingray injuries amid panicked crowds, Pradip was struck by a sobering realisation: Mumbai shares an intensely close relationship with the Arabian Sea, yet understands almost nothing about the life it holds. The sea was viewed largely as polluted, dangerous, or expendable — a perception that had quietly enabled neglect, unchecked development, and ecological degradation along the coastline.

Rather than turning away from this discomfort, Pradip leaned into it. What followed was a deeply personal commitment to study, document, and ultimately reframe how Mumbaikars see their shores. Through photography, video documentation, and patient field observation, he began building visual narratives that challenged the idea of the city's coastline as biologically barren. His images juxtapose delicate marine organisms against unmistakable urban backdrops — a sponge against high-rises, an octopus beneath the shadow of Marine Drive — quietly reminding viewers that Mumbai is, first and foremost, a coastal city.

In 2017, alongside marine biologist Abhishek Jamalabad and researcher Siddharth Chakravarty, Pradip co-founded Marine Life of Mumbai (MLOM). The collective was born from a simple but powerful idea: take land-dwelling citizens and introduce them to the underwater residents living at their feet. Shore walks became the medium — always free, always inclusive — serving not just as awareness tools but as platforms for citizen science, data collection, and leadership development. These shore walks were never intended to be tours in the traditional sense. They were designed as encounters — slow, observational experiences where participants learned to read the shore the way Pradip did: by noticing patterns, behaviours, textures, and seasonal changes. Importantly, the walks were made cost-free and open to all, reinforcing the belief that access to nature — especially urban nature — should never be gated by privilege.

Over time, the initiative grew beyond South Mumbai. What remained constant, however, was its core philosophy: conservation cannot succeed without familiarity, and familiarity begins with attention.MLOM now also conducts paid shore walks. It operates under the Coastal Conservation Foundation (CCF), a non-profit established in 2019, with Pradip Patade and Shaunak as Directors. MLOM serves as the flagship project of CCF, while the Foundation focuses on research and outreach initiatives.

Shore Walks as Citizen Science

Where Awareness Becomes Data

At the heart of Marine Life of Mumbai lies a powerful but understated idea — every curious observer can become a contributor. The shore walks double as living laboratories: participants are encouraged not just to observe, but to document species sightings, behavioural notes, seasonal appearances, breeding indicators, and habitat conditions. This collective effort feeds into an open-access, democratised database of Mumbai's marine biodiversity — effectively picking up the threads from formal documentation that slowed down in the 1980s. This citizen-science approach has allowed MLOM to build long-term ecological timelines across multiple shorelines. The data finds relevance far beyond public awareness — supporting education, impact assessments, and resource-management discussions. Equally important is the human outcome: participants are trained to eventually lead walks themselves, enabling the model to be replicated across neighbourhoods, cities, and even other coastal states.

What makes this especially compelling is the diversity of people involved. From marine biologists to designers, finance professionals to students with no prior exposure to ocean studies, the MLOM volunteer network reflects the city itself. Conservation here is not outsourced to specialists alone — it's shared, learned, and carried forward collectively.

In Conversation with Pradip Patade

Q: Mumbai is often described as polluted and ecologically exhausted. What do you see when you walk its shores?

Pradip: "I see resilience. Despite decades of neglect, disrespect, and unplanned development, the shoreline is still alive. That, to me, is extraordinary. If life can persist under these conditions, imagine what could happen if we actually cared."

Q: Why was it important for Marine Life of Mumbai's shore walks to remain free?

Pradip: "Because access is everything. If we want people to care, they must first be allowed to experience the shore without barriers. Free walks make the experience inclusive and allow curiosity to cut across age, education, and economic background."

Q: What role does citizen science play in your conservation vision?

Pradip: "A crucial one. When people contribute data themselves, their relationship with the ecosystem changes. They stop being passive consumers of information and become stakeholders. That shift is powerful."

Q: After years of doing this work, what keeps you going?

Pradip: "The people. Thousands now walk these shores with awareness. Through social media, volunteers, and community engagement, I no longer feel like I walk alone. That sense of shared purpose is deeply fulfilling."

Life Between the Tides: Species Seen on Mumbai's Shore Walks

False Pillow Coral

Often mistaken for a rock at first glance, this coral reveals its true identity only to the patient observer — a reminder that Mumbai's shores reward stillness and curiosity.

Mangrove Leaf Slug

A master of disguise, this delicate sea slug mimics fallen mangrove leaves, blending seamlessly into its habitat while quietly grazing on algae.

Elysia Sea Slug

Sometimes called a "solar-powered" slug, Elysia retains chloroplasts from the algae it consumes — blurring the line between plant and animal life.

Bombay Dorid

Boldly patterned and unmistakable, this nudibranch is a striking example of how colour in the intertidal zone often signals chemical defence rather than beauty alone.

Bamboo Shark

A rare and humbling encounter — this gentle shark is a powerful reminder that even apex species pass quietly through Mumbai's coastal waters.

Octopus

Intelligent, elusive, and endlessly curious, the octopus is one of the shore's most skilled escape artists, often seen only by those who slow down.

Sea Star

A familiar face to many, yet often overlooked — sea stars play a crucial role in maintaining balance within intertidal ecosystems.

Today, Pradip's work sits at the intersection of documentation, education, and quiet activism. His goal is not confrontation, but curiosity — instilling a sense of wonder strong enough to shift public perception and, eventually, policy. In his own words, despite decades of neglect, "the city's shorelines are filled with marine life." His life's work is ensuring that this truth is no longer invisible.

Read the full story

Read the full story in the magazine: This complete profile appearsin the December 2025 issue of The Weekend Aquarist.

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