| The marine environment supports and sustains an incredibly
diversified array of organisms exhibiting myriad forms, shapes and
characteristics. The marine resources have been explored by man since
time immemorial. The search for new resources continues and the process
seems to be never ending as every day species which are entirely new
to science are being discovered. Therefore, it is imperative to have
a repository of collection of specimens in one place, for future reference. |
The Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) realized
the importance and need for a biodiversity museum even in the early
1960s and established one at Mandapam, which was the then Headquarters
of the Institute. This museum till date stays a forerunner of marine
biodiversity museums in the country, with its awesome collections
of marine organisms.
India is a signatory to the Convention of Biological Diversity
(CBD). It is mandatory for all the signatory nations to strengthen
their capacity by designating national reference centres for all
the organisms, including the microbes. In this backdrop, the Central
Marine Fisheries Research Institute felt the need to establish a
modernized marine biodiversity museum which would serve as a national
reference facility, catering to the needs of marine biologists of
the country.
The realization manifested in establishing a Marine Biodiversity
Referral Museum at its Headquarters at Cochin, which was inaugurated
by Padma Vibhushan Prof. M. S. Swaminathan, Chairman, National Commission
on Farmers, Govt. of India on 4th February, 2006. The museum houses
1541 specimen belonging to various phyla.
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A view of the marine biodiversity referral museum |
| The museum displays diverse organisms collected from
a wide spectrum of niches ranging from estuaries to coastal and deeper
waters of the Indian seas. The museum is also a repository of some
of the rare collections from the Antarctic region. The fossil remains
of Pleistocene era add to the rarity of the collections. Besides,
the splendid display of molluscan shells and corals would be any collector’s
delight. |
Snapshots of the decked specimens |
Snapshots of the decked specimens |
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| The collections are arranged systematically in a groupwise manner
so that the visitors can have a better understanding of the resources.
Currently, the museum houses 824 specimen of fin fishes, 117 crustaceans,
249 molluscs, 45 echinoderms, 153 corals, 35 sponges, 20 ascidians,
82 sea weeds, a dolphin and 3 Antarctic birds. Besides, the mermaid’s
purse and the eggs and hatchlings of the Olive Ridley turtle add to
the fascination of the visitors. The museum also provides a computerized
database of the collections through a user-friendly MSAccess format. |
The Marine Biodiversity Referral Museum has opened up avenues for
researchers of the country who are conducting research in marine sciences
to preserve their valuable holotypes/paratypes of specimen for future
reference. The museum is being regularly accessed by scientists, teachers,
students and the general public from all over the country and also
by researchers from the overseas.
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