“Bhavasagara” Referral Centre Designated as India’s National Repository for Deep-Sea Fauna

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has designated the “Bhavasagara” Referral Centre of Centre for Marine Living Resources & Ecology (CMLRE) as a National Repository for Deep-Sea Fauna.

The recognition has been conferred under the provisions of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, establishing the centre as a key national facility for the preservation, documentation, and study of India’s deep-sea biodiversity.

About ‘Bhavasagara’ Referral Centre

• Functions as a scientific hub for deep-sea biodiversity research
• Houses over 3,500 taxonomically identified and geo-referenced specimens
• Collection includes:
  • Invertebrates: cnidarians, annelids, molluscs, arthropods, echinoderms
  • Vertebrates: elasmobranchs (sharks, rays) and teleost fishes

ey Functions as National Repository

Under the Biological Diversity Act, the repository is authorised to:

• Maintain secure custody of biological specimens
• Preserve type specimens (reference samples for species identification)
• Promote capacity building in deep-sea taxonomy
• Support global initiatives like the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development

About CMLRE

The Centre for Marine Living Resources & Ecology is a premier institute under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, tasked with:

• Exploration and assessment of marine living resources
• Conservation and sustainable management in India’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and adjacent deep seas

Source: PIB