Aiming to rein in unregulated aquariums across India, some of which are showcasing rare and endangered marine species, the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) is soon coming out with a policy for managing such aquariums across India.
According to official of CZA, which the nodal authority under the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) to regulate and monitor zoos, there are over a dozen of government and private aquariums across the country and thus a policy to regulate their work is urgently needed. "For zoos in India, which are 170, we have strong rules, guidelines and monitoring mechanisms but now we have aquariums too. Thus CZA felt it is necessary to create a standing policy for their functioning as they houses many endangered marine species also," CZA's Evaluation and Monitoring Officer BK Gupta told dna.
Aquariums like Taraporewala Aquarium in Mumbai, one in Port Blair and a recently opened in Surat (Gujarat) are just to name a few.
The policy, which is expected to take a final shape in next few months, would include general guidelines for functioning of aquariums and would also outline general monitoring mechanisms for the marine life on public display there.
The policy is also expected to address the conservation and breeding efforts for endangered marine animals. Apart from the already established aquariums, the new policy would also be applicable to new aquariums whose proposals are in pipeline or are soon expected to get a go ahead from CZA. "CZA has guidelines for conservation and breeding efforts of the endangered animals. Similarly, there are several marine species too which are endangered or on the verge of extinction and thus similar guidelines would be evolved for them as well," said Gupta.
The policy would also take care of the safety aspect of aquarium staff and people coming to visit such places. The safety aspect has gained a huge importance after the recent incident of a visitor being killed by a white tiger in Delhi
Zoo when the former crossed three safety levels and jumped inside the animal's enclosure.
Another CZA official said the policy would also help them in taking stock of the animals already present in such aquariums and the kind of facilities being provided to them.
Several CZA studies in the past have shown that sometimes animals in zoos are not taken care of properly or they were found to be under stress due to several factors like small enclosures, improper diet or others. The CZA's policy is expected to take care of all such aspects.
