Kerala-based group to launch Community Marine Biodiversity Online Register on World Oceans Day

Some of the most mysterious and thrilling secrets of the sea off the southern Kerala coast will be unveiled in Community Marine Biodiversity Online Register set to be released in Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala on the World Oceans Day on June 8.

Created by Friends of Marine Life (FML), a Thiruvananthapuram-based organisation working in the area of marine biodiversity, the online register documents marine ecosystems and the rich coastal biodiversity off Thiruvananthapuram district. Once launched, the register can be accessed by anyone free of charge. It is also interactive as the public and researchers can contribute to expanding it, said researcher and FML coordinator Robert Panipilla.

Ocean literacy

“The primary aim is building ‘ocean literacy’ - to show the ocean from the perspective of the traditional knowledge of the fishers,” he said. “The general public tend to view the ocean from the outside - as nothing more than a large body of water. For the fishers, on the other hand, the ocean and the underwater ecosystems are as familiar to them as any cityscape would be to a resident,” he said.

The FML initiative is supported by a clutch of agencies including Kerala University’s Department of Aquatic Biology and Fisheries, South Indian Federation of Fishermen’s Societies, Aazhi Archives and Scuba Cochin.

The register provides information on a wealth of marine species, including many that have yet to be scientifically identified. It also features verified scientific information from institutions such as the Department of Aquatic Biology and Fisheries and the National Institute of Ocean technology, according to Mr. Panipilla. For each species, both the vernacular name and the common name are provided.

Apart from photographs, the register has 55 habitat-related underwater videos and over 200 species-related videos. According to the FML, the initiative is meant to document the traditional knowledge of the local fishing community while raising public awareness and strengthening conservation efforts.

The FML has documented around 50 underwater marine habitats along the Thiruvananthapuram coast, said Mr. Panipilla. “The register carries information on the marine biodiversity up to a depth of 43 metres,” he said.

For Mr. Panipilla, it is also a form of protest against the Kerala State Biodiversity Board. During 2013-15, he had worked as project coordinator for a Marine Biodiversity Register on the Thiruvananthapuram coast for the board. According to him, the board had used only 40% of the data. “They discarded 60% of the collected data on the grounds that there were no experts to establish the taxonomy. Just because something has not been scientifically described does not mean it doesn’t exist. On the online register, we have uploaded such species as ‘unidentified.’

The FML initiative also comes at a time when fragile coastal ecosystems across the globe are facing persistent threats.

Transport Minister C.P. John will launch the website of the Community Marine Biodiversity Online Register at the Thiruvananthapuram Press Club on June 8. A. Biju Kumar, Vice-Chancellor, Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS) will preside. John Kurien, retired Professor, Centre of Development Studies will deliver the keynote address. The FML’s aim is to publish similar community-driven online registers for Kerala and India with the cooperation of like-minded groups.