Bhavasagara Referral Centre:
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has officially designated the Bhavasagara Referral Centre at CMLRE, Kochi, as a National Repository for Deep-Sea Fauna under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002.The Bhavasagara Referral Centre is a specialized scientific hub and India’s newly designated National Repository dedicated to the preservation, study, and documentation of deep-sea marine life. It serves as a centralized custody center for deep-sea specimens and their associated genetic data.Parent Organisation: The Centre for Marine Living Resources & Ecology (CMLRE), Kochi, Kerala.Ministry: Functions under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES).Officially designated as a National Repository on March 30, 2026, by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002. The primary objective of the centre is to provide a foundational resource for ocean scientists to unlock the mysteries of the deep sea while strengthening India’s blue economy and marine biodiversity framework.It aims to foster expertise in deep-sea taxonomy in alignment with the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021–2030).
