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Site description (2004 baseline):

The open mudflats of Trombay and Sewri are located along the Arabian Sea. An area c. 10 km long and 3 km wide, is dominated by mangroves all along the coast. The area is prohibited for the general public. The jetty of Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT), Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), and Tata Electrical are located along the area. There are refineries of Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL). Despite the high degree of pollution, the area is a winter refuge for thousands of migratory birds from as far as the Arctic circle. They include sandpipers, plovers, gulls and terns. The area also supports a large congregation of flamingos, which are local migrants probably from Gujarat. Raptors also use the area as a stopover and a few of them winter here, such as the Eurasian Marsh Harrier Circus aeruginosus and the Greater Spotted Eagle Aquila clanga. The area is dominated by mangrove vegetation and supports a diverse flora. Fifty-three species of vascular plants have been recorded. Of these 10 species are mangroves and 13 are mangroveassociated species. Avicennia marina is a dominant plant species in the area, while Rhizophora mucronata and Excoecaria agallocha also occur.

AVIFAUNA: Till now about 150 bird species have been identified from this IBA. Along the mudflats in Sewri, 1,500-2,000 Greater Flamingos Phoenicopterus ruber, 15,000 Lesser Flamingos P. minor, and 7,000 Lesser Sand Plovers Charadrius mongolus have been sighted in January 2003. Globally threatened species such as the Spotted Greenshank Tringa guttifer, Greater Spotted Eagle, Eastern Imperial Eagle Aquila heliaca and Oriental White-backed Vulture Gyps bengalensis are seen here. Other bird species include the Little Green Heron Butorides striatus, Western Reef Heron Egretta gularis, Black-headed or White Ibis Threskiornis melanocephalus, Common Redshank Tringa totanus, Marsh Sandpiper T. stagnatilis, Common Greenshank T. nebularia, Curlew Sandpiper Calidris ferruginea, Brown-headed Gull Larus brunnicephalus, Whiskered Tern Chlidonias hybridus, Gull-billed Tern Gelochelidon nilotica, Caspian Tern Sterna caspia, Little Tern S. albifrons and Eurasian Marsh Harrier. Extremely large numbers of stints (Calidris spp.), sometimes in flocks of 8 to 10 thousand are seen, even to the end of May. It should be noted that many of these numbers are much above the 1% threshold of biogeographic population determined by Wetlands International (2002). This site easily fulfils A4i (=1% of biogeographic population) and A4iii (=20,000 waterbirds) criteria.

OTHER KEY FAUNA: The only large mammal species recorded in this marshland was a Golden Jackal Canis aureus (Verma et al. 2002). Other fauna includes eight reptiles, 28 species of butterflies, eight species of gastropods, five species of bivalves, two species of pulmonates and nine species of crustaceans.

MAIN THREATS: Pollution (chemicals, oil and grease, pesticides); Release of untreated sewage into the sea; Release of dye wastes; Oil spillage; Fish mortality, due to hot water discharge into the sea; Overexploitation of fishery; Poaching of birds to some extent; Electrocution of Flamingos; Fuel wood collection from mangroves.

Seepage of industrial effluents into the mangroves and creek is an issue of concern, as untreated waste is causing contamination of the water. Sometimes, ONGC, BPCL and HPCL release their effluents into these mudflats. Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers, situated about 5 km from this creek, also releases its wastes here. Besides this, the sewage of the metropolis is being released here. A dye factory situated closeby also pours its effluents into the area. This ultimately affects the prey base of birds. Local slum dwellers are dependent on the mangroves for fuel wood; rapidly increasing slum colonies are placing a great burden on limited resources of this ecosystem. There are cases of electrocution of the flamingos due to high voltage wires. BPCL (Bharat petroleum corporation limited) and MbPT (Mumbai Port Trust) are carrying out awareness campaigns and conservation related activities in this area with the help of BNHS. There is a proposal to build 6 lane cause-way, right through Sewri mud flats. This would have severe impact, at least during the construction period. Attempts should be made to divert this causeway to avoid the main feeding areas of the flamingos.

Key contributors: T. V. Sowrirajan, S. Balachandran, Ashok Verma, I. Kehimkar and Vivek Kulkarni.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Mahul - Sewree Creek (India). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/mahul--sewree-creek-iba-india on 26/11/2024.