India’s 1st National Repository for Deep-Sea Fauna | 31 Mar 2026

Source: PIB

The Center for Marine Living Resources & Ecology (CMLRE), Kochi, has reached a significant milestone in marine conservation with its "Bhavasagara" Referral Centre being officially designated as a National Repository for Deep-Sea Fauna.

• Designation Authority: The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) conferred this status under Section 39 of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002.
• Purpose: It serves as a critical national facility for the preservation, study, and documentation of India's deep-sea biological heritage, supporting the nation's Blue Economy goals.
• Current Holdings: The center houses over 3,500 taxonomically identified and geo-referenced voucher specimens, ranging from marine invertebrates (cnidarians, molluscs, arthropods) to vertebrates.
• Key Responsibilities:
  • Maintaining secure custody of biological samples and associated DNA sequences.
  • Acting as the official custodian for any new deep-sea species discovered within Indian waters.
  • Capacity building in deep-sea taxonomy, aligning with the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021–2030).
• Institutional Framework: CMLRE operates under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) and focuses on exploration, management, and conservation of marine living resources in the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and adjacent deep seas.